Adopted
by Apple Syder
Summary: What's this? Akane left? And now she's come back? But wait, she's not alone! Who are those kids with her? They're her children! How's Ranma taking this?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't know how I came up with this one, but it was such a cute/ odd idea that I had to write it down!

Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Ranma ½ or I would be rich…very rich.

Adopted

"You're leaving?"

Akane glanced up as his muffled voice wafted through the closed window. She stood and walked over to the window. He had expected her to open it and talk to him, but she just smiled at him sadly and shut the curtain.

Ranma pulled himself back onto the roof, and frowned. He'd seen her packing her backpack, the one she normally took with her when she went on training trips.

_Why?_ He thought.

He climbed down from the roof and walked back into the house through the sliding doors.

He knew she'd been acting a little odd the last few weeks, ever since China and the failed wedding. Was she that unhappy? Did she hate it here? Why would she want to leave?

They were friends, or so he thought, and might have been more. They still fought, he couldn't help that, but he had been trying harder. He was always careful with her, since China, wanting to know where she was at all times. And now she wanted to leave? How was he supposed to protect her if she was gone?

He entered the living room, glancing momentarily at Soun and Nabiki Tendo who were watching TV on the couch. He started toward the stairs, pausing at the bottom when he heard a door slam. Akane appeared at the top of the stairs. She was wearing pants and a loose T-shirt, not her usual attire, but something more comfortable for walking long distances in. She looked at him for a minute, before redirecting her eyes and slowly descending.

Ranma frowned as she ignored him. "Akane, where-"

"Akane! Ranma!" Kasumi called, cutting him off. "Could you come here for a second?"

Akane brushed past Ranma toward the front hall, where the whole family had suddenly gathered.

"We're going out for a while," Kasumi informed them as she pulled on a jacket.

"All right," Akane said, ignoring Ranma's eyes on the back of her head. "Where are you going?"

"Kuno baby invited us over for dinner, or rather he invited Akane and the Pig-tailed Girl. He should have good food, though." Nabiki said. "We figured you two didn't want to go. Unless, of course, you do?" Nabiki chuckled as Ranma and Akane shook their heads vigorously, eyes wide.

"Well, then," Soun said as he held the door open for Nabiki and Kasumi. "Have fun, you two!" He walked out the door, giggling.

Akane and Ranma just watched the closed door for a minute.

"Well," Akane finally said, "That was convenient timing." She shrugged her shoulders and walked back to the kitchen.

She opened the fridge and pulled out a number of ingredients, most of it easy food that wouldn't spoil from not being refrigerated. She took uncooked ramen and rice from the cupboard. She put all of the ingredients in a bag and started to go out the door.

Ranma stood in her way, arms crossed, refusing to let her out.

"So, 'Kane, where ya goin'?" He asked, eyes narrowed.

She glared back at him again, holding his gaze, before sighing. "I'm going to come back, you know."

"That's not what I asked."

She tried to walk past him again, but he sidestepped in the way. She took a step back and said, "I don't know, Ranma. But it's going to be far away from here."

"Why?"

She groaned. "Ranma, I really don't have time for this."

Ranma crossed the space between them and grabbed the food bag from her hand.

"Now ya do." He said as he tossed it onto the table on the other side of the room.

She glared at him, her teeth clenched. She was starting to get irritated. "Ranma, you're being ridiculous."

"_I'm_ being ridiculous? You're the one being stupid!"

"What? I am _not_!" She shouted back, clearly angry now.

"You can't just waltz around like that!" He shouted back. "You idiot, you can't even make tea. Who's gonna take care of you, huh?"

She paused, looking up at him. She smiled suddenly. "Ranma, I'm going to be fine. I'm just going on a-a vacation of sorts for a little bit."

"What for?" She didn't answer. "At least," Ranma hesitated, trying to find a good reason to make her stay. He couldn't think of one. It was just as dangerous here in Nerima as it was anywhere else, what with all the psycho paths in town. "At least let me come with you."

She blinked before scoffing. "No, I'm not going to let you come with me! If you came with me, there'd be no point in leaving in the first place!" She shouted, annoyed with this whole conversation.

Ranma stopped. He let her walk past this time, staring at the place where she had been a minute ago. Was it his fault she was leaving? He turned, watching her walk down the hall to her room.

He snapped out of it and quickly caught her. "You can't go!" He said grabbing her arm.

"Oh yeah? Why not?" She yelled, trying to free her arm.

"Because!" He paused for a second, trying to get a better hold on her as she squirmed away from him. "Because you're not strong enough to just go off by yourself!"

She growled as she was jerked back, her feet practically leaving the floor. "I'm still a martial artist, Ranma! I can take care of myself!"

"But, you-"

"Saffron isn't going to come back, Ranma!"

She broke away with a quick jab to his stomach which he brushed off. They stared at each other, breathing hard.

The tension broke as the phone rang. Akane looked down the hall as it rang again. Ranma reluctantly let her walk into the other room. He stood in the hallway and listened as she answered the phone.

"Hello!…What?…Oh, Yuka….Now? Um, well…."

Ranma's head lifted as he heard her tone of voice. He walked into the other room as Akane said, "All right, I'll see you in a few minutes…bye."

"Who was that?" He asked.

Akane looked at the phone sadly. "It was Yuka. Something happened. I told her I'd come over."

"Right now?" Ranma asked hopefully. If she could be delayed, that might give him enough time to figure out how to stop her.

"Don't look so happy."

Ranma felt a sudden sense of triumph as she walked into the front hall. But when she slipped her tennis shoes on, instead of her regular shoes, he looked at her suspiciously.

She frowned at him. "Come with me if you want."

Ranma snorted and followed her out the door and down the street.

When they reached Yuka's house, Yuka flung open the door and threw her arms around Akane's neck.

"Oh, Akane!" She sobbed onto her shoulder.

Akane patted her back. "It's ok, you'll be fine…" she reassured her. Akane glanced back at Ranma. "I think I might be a while."

Ranma, who was starring at Yuka with wide eyes, nodded and turned back down the street, knowing Akane wouldn't leave with Yuka like that.

"Uh, Ranma."

He turned back.

"Thanks...uh, for walking me over." She gave him a small smile.

He frowned as they disappeared inside the house.

When he reached the Tendo Dojo he raced upstairs to Akane's room, determined to find the backpack and unpack it. He opened the closet, looked under the bed, and checked behind the door…he couldn't find it. He rushed back downstairs, thinking she might have placed it near the door for a quick escape. He searched each of the rooms, coming up with the same answer.

A sudden fear bubbled up in his throat. He went back to Akane's room and opened all the drawers. They were completely empty.

He didn't even bother closing the drawers or shutting the door behind him as he ran back to Yuka's house.

He rang the doorbell, shifting impatiently from foot to foot as he waited. Yuka opened the door and he was surprised to see that her eyes were dry. In fact, there was no sign of her previous breakdown at all.

"Oh, Ranma, um-" She said when she saw him.

"Where's Akane?" He asked, interrupting her.

"Oh, well, you see, she isn't exactly here right now…"

Ranma spun around, not waiting for her to finish.

He ran around Nerima, taking streets he thought she might use, but then resorted to just running along fences and hopping across buildings, calling her name. A crushing dread settled over him as he searched and researched Nerima's streets, going so far as Tokyo's borders. He checked every train station and airport he could think of, every place he could ever remember her taking a liking to, every place she might even hate, going so far as bursting through the door to the surprise of the Neko Hanten owners.

But it was as simple as that: Akane was gone.

* * *

11 months later…

The metal fence beneath him _twanged _as his footsteps ran faster along the top of it. Ranma didn't bother watching where he was going, knowing the way like the back of his hand.

Not that he enjoyed this daily routine.

He hated school. _Really_ hated it. And ever since Akane had left he'd hated it even more. He'd actually stopped going to school for a while, after she'd left. He'd just stay at the house all day, training or watching TV all day. Eventually, he felt himself going completely stir-crazy and was forced to leave the house. Now he went, and like clockwork did his work—actually did it— ate lunch, and went back home again, where he'd proceed to finish his homework and then train until dinnertime.

Not that he found much point in doing any of it. Except for the training part. He periodically had Shampoo and Kodachi bombard him, Mouse get angry about Shampoo's extra attention, Kuno bellowing where his "precious Akane Tendo" was, and Ryoga either screaming "prepare to die!" or camping in the Tendo's back yard in wait for his lost love. Not exactly the picturesque scene for the residents of Nerima.

In fact, it was nearly time for Shampoo's early morning bike route…

As if on que, her bike bell sounded behind him, warning him to either get out of the way or be run over. Of course, as soon as he did jump out of the way, she just redirected her bike, so he was run over anyway.

"Nihao, Ranma! Shampoo bring you too, too delicious breakfast, made just for you!" Shampoo said cheerily, pulling out her delivery box.

He groaned and pulled himself up, rubbing his head. "No thanks, Shampoo. I already ate." He tried to turn but found that Shampoo was already in his way.

"Shampoo insists, Ranma. Is made special, with all Shampoo's love!" She held the ramen bowl up to his nose. It did smell delicious, but Ranma considered the fact that normal ramen was not supposed to be blue, and again decided to not eat it.

"Shampoo, I'm going to be late," Ranma said, ignoring her puppy-dog eyes.

"Aw! Is ok, Shampoo understands. Ranma want to become not only strong airen, but also very smart airen! Shampoo see Ranma after school, then!" Shampoo lurched forward and crushed him to her in a goodbye hug. Unfortunately, Mouse chose this particular moment to turn the corner.

"What are you up to with my future bride, Saotome? I shall-" Mouse was cut short when "Ranma Saotome" (a light pole) was cut in half by his sword and fell on top of his own head. "This fight…isn't…over…" Mouse mumbled before passing out.

Ranma and Shampoo watched him slump to the ground, neither bothering to aid him.

"Stupid duck," Shampoo muttered, annoyed.

"Oi! Get your hands off Ran-chan, you Chinese hussy!"

Ranma sighed as Ukyo pulled her battle spatula from her back and Shampoo glared at her.

"You challenge Shampoo for airen? You no know what get you self into." Shampoo said darkly, taking a defensive stance.

Ranma rolled his eyes. They always said and did the same things. Didn't they ever get tired of it?

Ranma took their distraction as an opportunity and hurried along the road toward the school. He knew how the fight would end, anyway. Cologne would show up, tell Shampoo fighting a non-amazonion, weak, underprivileged girl wasn't worth it, Ukyo would get ticked off until she remembered she was late for school, and the fight would break up…just like it happened everyday.

He heard the bell ringing in the distance and sped up.

"Hahaha! You better hurry up, budda, or you're going to be late!" Principle Kuno's voice wafted toward him over the speakers as he neared. "You know the punishment for being late!"

He reached the school just as the gates were closing and quickly slipped inside.

"Ha!" He laughed in triumph…that is, before the sidewalk beneath him opened up and he fell through.

He, er, now a she, swam back to the surface of the pool of water he'd fallen in. She looked up at the fake sunny, blue sky of the principles office and sighed again. She turned and started swimming toward the little island where a very tanned man in a Hawaiian shirt was playing the ukulele.

"Haha!" Principle Kuno exclaimed when he saw Ranma. "You late, boy! You know the punishment! You have ta spend the rest of the day as a little wahine! Haha!"

Ranma started. "What? I thought the punishment was that you had to trim the soccer field with fingernail clippers!"

"That was last weeks punishment. But now that you've cut the grass ev'ra day, it don't need no more trimmin', so now we makin' you stay a girl! Haha!"

"What good'll that do you?" Ranma mumbled, sloshing onto the beach.

"True, dat, but you is a good lookin' wahine, and today we need a good lookin' representative of Furinkan High 'cause we be havin' inspectors comin' to da school to check in on da big Kahuna." Principle Kuno leaned back in his sun chair and strummed his ukulele, which was horrendously out of tune.

"What? No way!" Ranma turned and started in the direction of the door, which happened to be hidden away in a deep, fake forest.

"Aw, come on, little budda, don't be makin' me send ya to da detention room, ya?"

Ranma growled and opened her mouth for a reply but was cut off as the roof opened again and Ukyo fell through the ceiling into the fake ocean.

Ranma stopped and waited for her to swim to shore, and just as Principle Kuno was in the middle of telling her her punishment Ranma grabbed a conveniently located coconut and knocked him out.

Ranma and Ukyo wandered through the jungle for near two hours—fighting two teachers dressed as gorillas and a man-eating flower on the way—and finally found the secretary's desk that was placed just beside the elevator that led up to the main building. She smiled, greeted them both by name, handed them some dry clothes and hot water, and sent them back up to the school.

Ranma spent the rest of the day avoiding the principle's attempts to turn him into a girl, Kuno jr.—who wanted to know, again, where "the foul sorcerer had whisked Akane to"—and a couple other girls who had started fawning over him when his fiancée conveniently disappeared. He ate lunch with Daisuke and Hiroshi, and Ukyo fed them some okinomiyaki that had previously been poisoned by Kodachi and turned the three of their eyes green for the next few hours.

All in all, Ranma was immensely relieved as he walked home along the fence that no one else had mobbed him in the last while, and would most likely leave him alone the rest of the day, all of them afraid of Nabiki Tendo, who was visiting from her college this week.

He had started home late—due to a recently conscious, and unconscious again, Mouse—so the sun was low in the sky, the clouds already turning orange, when he reached the Tendo gates. He hopped off the fence and crossed the street, jumping over the gate and walking down the path to the front door. He walked in, hollered "I'm home!", slipped his shoes off and headed into the dining room where everyone was already seated for dinner.

"Welcome home, Ranma!" Kasumi greeted, smiling up at him, the first to notice his presence.

Genma and Soun glanced up at him over their bowls of food, nodding. Nabiki didn't even bother looking up, but continued whatever she was doing on her palm pilot.

"Hey, m'boy, how was school?" Genma grinned at him.

Ranma shrugged. "Same." He knelt down at the table and ignored the empty space at the table across from him.

"Here you are, Ranma," Kasumi said, handing him a bowl of steaming rice and vegetables. Ranma smiled at her, catching Genma's chopsticks that were headed towards his bowl in his own.

"Ukyo called, Ranma," Kasumi said casually. "She said that she hoped you'd stop by later. She thought you might need a break from things."

Ranma smiled. Although he never did take her invitations he was still glad Ukyo was here. If it weren't for her help, he didn't think he'd have survived the past few months, what with all the crazed suitors, and deranged loons, in this town.

After a few minutes of polite chat around the table—well, except for the sounds of Genma and Ranma fighting and chewing—Nabiki sighed and turned off her palm pilot and picked up her chopsticks. Just before the screen went blank, Ranma caught a glimpse of the web page she had been on:

/searchandrescue/tendonabiki

Ranma looked at Nabiki's face, which was uncharacteristically make-up-less and had dark bags under her eyes. He knew that it wasn't her college classes that were making her stressed.

She was still upset with herself. Angry and upset that she hadn't been able to locate her little sister. She'd started looking for Akane the day after she left, and still was drawing a blank. She didn't even know why. She had connections in nearly every surrounding country, agents and spies that covered all the surrounding towns, and none of them had even seen Akane leave. Quite a few of them lost their jobs after that. She couldn't find even one scrap of evidence that Akane had been anywhere; it was like she had fallen off the ends of the Earth.

Ranma shook his head sympathetically. The whole family had taken it hard. Kasumi pretended like it didn't bother her, but he knew she still cried sometimes. Her smiles were wider than usual, like she was trying to hide something, and not shown nearly as often.

Soun didn't cry just "sometimes", he cried every night and sometimes part of the day. He'd stopped eating when Akane had left and locked himself in his room for nearly a month and a half. It wasn't until Nabiki and Kasumi had snapped him out of it…literally. Nabiki had slapped him across the face and Kasumi had yelled at him, telling him he wasn't the only one that was upset. Soun very quickly sobered up, only to break down again and go on about his "beautifully wonderful and caring daughters".

Ranma glanced at the girl in question, amused at the memory. She caught his eyes and smiled gently back at him. He was relieved to see that it was genuine.

He was glad that he was with this family. He knew that if he'd been alone with Genma he'd have ended up killing the idiot, who would probably have him engaged to another girl faster than he could blink. And if he'd been alone with Soun he was sure he'd have gone mad from his incessant weeping. Kasumi and Nabiki, odd as they were, were firm in what they believed in. Kasumi believed that Akane would come back, and Nabiki believed that she would be able to find her. Either way, they had both comforted Ranma and convinced him to stay at the dojo and wait, instead of rushing off on some half-formed plan of a rescue.

He had to admit, though, he was getting anxious. It had been almost a year. He was a Senior now. He'd already promised himself that if there was still no sign of Akane after he had finished school, he'd go find her right after graduation.

He didn't want to think any further about that, though. He'd never show any sign of it but it gave him a stomachache. He didn't want to think about the possibility of him never finding her, or, if he did find her, her not wanting to come back.

Ranma was jerked from his thoughts as the doorbell rang.

He turned with the rest of the members at the table, blinking in surprise. For a minute no one moved, too shocked to do anything. No one had visited the Tendo dojo in near a year. And the people that did never bothered to ring the doorbell.

The doorbell rang again and it stirred the family into action.

Soun folded the newspaper he had been reading, Nabiki and Genma straightened in their seats, and Kasumi rose with an "Oh my" to get the door. Ranma remained frozen, chopsticks halfway to his mouth.

A few seconds passed and the doorbell rang again, allowing everyone to assume that Kasumi still hadn't opened the door.

Ranma sighed when he felt everyone's eyes suddenly on him and walked toward the door.

Kasumi was standing with one hand on the doorknob, not moving. When he got closer, she looked up at him, startled. "Oh, Ranma, I just..."

He just gently moved her out of the way and opened the door after a deep breath.

Who stood on the other side wasn't even close to what they had been expecting.

"Is this the Tendo Dojo?" the guest asked. He was a boy, about ten years old, with unruly black hair. His clothes were dusty and he had a heavy, shaggy looking backpack loading his shoulders. He would look every bit a street urchin, if it weren't for his hard, determined gaze.

"Um, yeah." Ranma responded lamely, Kasumi blinking over his shoulder.

The boy looked relieved as he bowed low to them.

"I am Yunshin Hikawa," he said, "and I have news for you and this household."

Kasumi recovered first. "Please, do come in."

Yunshin stepped through the doorway, glancing around.

"This way," Kasumi said, smiling down at him, and turned to go back into the dining room.

Yunshin took a step, then turned and looked up at Ranma. They watched each other for a minute, sizing each other up.

"Are you Ranma Saotome?" Yunshin suddenly asked.

"Um, yeah, that's me."

Yunshin's stern face suddenly broke out into a grin. "Oh, I see," He said. "I've heard much about you, Ranma Saotome, it's good to finally meet you." Then he turned and headed into the dining hall.

Ranma watched after him, thinking. So, a ten-year-old kid had heard about him? He hoped he didn't have it in his puny head that he was going to challenge him.

Ranma rolled his eyes and walked back into the dining room.

Yunshin was sitting at the table now, in Akane's seat. Ranma suddenly felt very protective of that cushion and resisted the urge to "accidentally" dump his food on the kid.

Kasumi placed a bowl of food in front of Yunshin, which he just stared at.

"Go on, you must be hungry," Genma reassured from next to him.

Yunshin glanced at the bald man before picking up his chopsticks and the bowl. The speed with which he ate rivaled that of the Saotome family.

When he was finished, he placed the bowl on the table again and sighed, content.

"D-did you enjoy it?" Kasumi asked, stunned.

Yunshin patted his stomach. "Mmm, yes, I did. It was even better than I had imagined."

"Oh, um, thank you?" Kasumi said, confused.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes at the boy.

"Who are you again?" She asked.

Yunshin blinked at her. "I'm Yunshin Hikawa. I've come to bring you a message."

"Oh? What message? From who?"

Nabiki had no idea what the answer to this question would bring to the members at the table. Although, if she had, she'd have been too shocked herself to even ask.

But, since she didn't, Yunshin just straightened up, his purpose remembered.

"It's about someone very close to me," He started seriously. "And you. Keep in mind that she didn't send me, I came on my own. But I think that you might want to know so that you're not caught off guard when she gets here." Yunshin paused dramatically before saying the last sentence. "Akane Tendo is coming home."

A/N: Bwahahaha! Heh, evil cliffy! Whose the kid? How's he know Akane? Where's said girl been all this time? You'll see, you'll see, you'll see! XD


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Whoa, it took me forever to update! +Starts to sweat as all the angry readers approach with torches and pitchforks+ Heh heh, oops…+Quickly runs away+

Adopted

Chapter 2

"Interesting," Yunshin mumbled, scrutinizing the school building before him. "It's big enough, but how's the criteria?" He scribbled something in the notebook he had been carrying around, shaking his head and muttering something about "wacko principles".

Ranma just watched from a few feet away, acting unconcerned. This kid was a complete weirdo. Shortly after the Tendo dinner he had refused all questions and excused himself from the table. He left his pack in Akane's room before heading back out the door. Ranma had almost as quickly been pushed out the door after him. But he didn't need any more encouragement than that. He rushed after Yunshin, demanding he explain how he knew Akane. Yunshin ignored him the whole way.

He'd followed Yunshin all the way to Furinkan High. All along the way Yunshin had scribbled things in his little notebook, criticizing everything they passed aloud. Now they were here, at the high school, and Ranma still couldn't get one sentence out of the kid that made any sense at all.

"Ranma?" Yunshin said again, breaking Ranma's train of thought.

"Huh?"

"I said 'is there anyway into the building'?" Yunshin put his hands on his hips, annoyed. Ranma had to do a double take. For a minute there, with the moon rising behind him, Ranma could have sworn he'd seen a miniature-boy-version Akane. _Mus' a been a trick of the lights,_ Ranma thought.

"Huh, why would you want to go into that smelly old building? You're not even in high school yet." Ranma put his hands behind his head.

"Not yet, but in 4 years I will be, and I'd like to check out the surrounding areas and the schools before I make any major decisions," Yunshin sighed, exasperated, as if he were talking with a small child.

Ranma tskd. This kid was talking like an adult! Like an educated, rich, stuck-up adult!

"Look here, kid," Ranma flicked Yunshin's forehead. "If you think you're stayin' at the dojo, think again. Especially if you're not gonna tell us nothin' about Akane."

Yunshin shrugged his shoulders. "All right, as soon as I'm finished here I'll stop by to get my things." He turned back to try and decide how to get to the top of roof. He looked at Ranma out of the corner of his eye. "Don't worry, I know the way back, you can leave now."

"I'm not goin' nowhere until you tell me what you know about Akane." Ranma hoisted Yunshin up by the back of his shirt.

"All right, I suppose that's fair enough." Yunshin stuck his hand out, palm up. "I'll make you a deal: every time you do something for me, I'll tell you something."

"What?" Ranma cried, outraged. "No way, I ain't making no stupid deal! How about you tell me all you know, or I'll give you a ride to the other side of Tokyo, by air, free of charge?"

"Well, I suppose you could do that, too, but then you'd still not know anything about Akane."

Yunshin returned Ranma's glare calmly. Ranma growled before tucking Yunshin under one arm and after a hop-and-a-skip they were standing on the roof of Furinkan. He not-too-gently dumped Yunshin on his rear when they landed.

"Wow!" Yunshin exclaimed, seeing the view. He flipped open his notebook and scribbled something, grinning ear to ear. "I might just come here, for the view alone."

"Huh," Ranma crossed his arms. "Well? What about your end of the bargain?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes," He tapped his pencil against his lips, thinking. "Let's see, I suppose the most appropriate detail at the moment is that Akane is safe."

Ranma waited. "And?"

" 'And' what? That's you're detail."

Ranma twitched. He grabbed Yunshin by the front of his shirt and whapped him on the top of the head. "That's it? 'She's safe'? Well, obviously, if she's comin' home! Tell me something else!"

Yunshin rubbed the top of his head. "No way! A deals a deal, and that was your end of it!"

"Grr, you little punk, you cheated!" Ranma shook him up and down.

Yunshin elbowed Ranma on the top of the head. "I did not! Besides, throwing me onto the roof hardly counts as 'doing something for me'. Ever heard of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'?"

"Ever heard of 'a crappy detail for a bruise'?" Ranma pulled back a fist.

"Wow, Ranma, how poetic of you!" Yunshin said sarcastically, his eyes widening in mock awe.

"Shut up, you-"

"You know, by simply getting me down from here, you'll get another fact."

Ranma paused, mid hit. "Why you sneaky little devil…" He hopped over the railing again, dragging Yunshin by his shirt. "All right, you, tell me when Akane's coming back."

Yunshin coughed and clutched at his throat, where his collar was choking him. Ranma dropped him on the ground.

"Geez, do you always treat children this way? Hmph." Yunshin dusted himself off. "What day is it?"

"Monday."

"Well, then, if she makes good time, I'd say she can make it as early as the middle of next week." Yunshin shrugged and turned around, walking back toward the gates.

Ranma looked after him for a moment. Thoughts were suddenly swarming in his head. He wanted to run home and tell the rest of the family, so that they could get everything ready for her to come home. He felt nervous, wondering what he would say to her when she got here, wondering what she would think of him now, after all this time.

"Oi!" Yunshin cried from the gates. "You coming?"

"Uh, yeah." Ranma ran after Yunshin.

"What's the matter with you?" Yunshin asked.

"Nothing." Ranma said.

Yunshin looked at Ranma's face surprised. Then he threw back his head and chuckled. "You sap." He said.

Ranma touched his cheek, wondering what he was talking about, and jerked. He was smiling, a real, happy smile for the first time in what seemed like forever. With the realization his smile just broadened.

* * *

"What should we do?" Kasumi asked, putting a hand to her cheek.

"We can't very well kick him out, can we?" Genma added.

"No, no, that wouldn't be right. We'll let him stay, until he's ready to tell us all about Akane." Soun nodded at his own suggestion.

"But how do we know the boy isn't lying to us?" Genma asked.

"Erm…"

Nabiki stepped into the conversation. "I say we let him hang out for a bit. We'll let him cozy up, and then we'll pounce. He might be lying, but he obviously knows who Akane is, so there might be some useful information in that little head of his."

Soun and Genma nodded eagerly.

"What an ingenious daughter you have, Tendo!" Genma laughed.

"She gets it from the best, Saotome!" Soun laughed along with him.

"Oh, please. It was simply logic." Nabiki rolled her eyes at her pathetic family.

Kasumi didn't pay attention to any of them. She turned to the young martial artist sitting in the corner. "What do you think, Ranma?"

The rest of the group sobered up and watched him as well.

Ranma had been watching Akane's bedroom door ever since Yunshin had disappeared behind it. Yunshin had insisted on sleeping in her room and—after a little bit of 'gentle rough-housing' with Ranma—had won his keep. Ranma now turned to look at the rest of the people in the room.

He thought for a minute before saying with finality, "He'll stay."

Soun and Genma erupted in cheers as Nabiki stood, pulling her palm pilot out of her pocket and walking out of the room. Kasumi quickly hushed their fathers and shooed them off to bed. She cleared the table and turned off all the lights downstairs. When she was finished, she gently kneeled in front of Ranma, who hadn't moved an inch.

"Ranma," she put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, surprised she was still there. She looked as if she wanted to say something but Ranma beat her to it.

"It's ok," he reassured her. "It's goin' to be ok, now." He patted her hand, smiled, and went off to his room.

Kasumi sat, unmoving. "Y-yes," She smiled softly to herself. "Everything will be ok, now."

* * *

"Hey, sunshine, time to wake up," Nabiki said, leaning against the doorframe. Ranma didn't move under his blanket. She sighed before kneeling next to the sleeping boy. "Hello? Anybody at home?" She asked, rapping on his head. He didn't move. She sighed again. "You know, for every extra minute it takes for me to wake you up, it'll cost you another hundred yen."

The blanket was thrown across the room and Ranma was quickly scrambling to find some clothes. Nabiki nodded in satisfaction and left him to it, disappearing out the door.

Walking in a tired daze, Ranma went downstairs to the dining room where everyone was already eating breakfast. Yunshin was again sitting in Akane's seat, watching Ranma with an amused smile as he slumped into his own spot.

"Good morning, Ranma!" Kasumi placed a bowl of steaming rice in front of him.

"Mofnin!" Ranma mumbled through a mouth already full of food. When he had finished, he realized it must have been still rather early because no one was rushing him out of the house for school. So, instead, he calmly sat and waited for the others to be finished.

As Kasumi started to clear the plates, Yunshin cleared his throat. Immediately, everyone's attention was on him. Yunshin pulled out a pouch that had been sitting next to him.

"I have something I thought you all might like to see," Yunshin said opening the pouch and pulling out the contents. It was a pile of photos, and he set them down with a _thwack_ in the center of the table. Nabiki started to reach for the stack before the top picture stopped her. It was a picture of a girl with short black hair and a white Gi, grinning at the camera. Nabiki picked it up slowly.

"Go ahead," Yunshin encouraged, spreading the rest of the pictures across the tabletop.

Ranma picked up the one closest to him. It was of Akane, and she was at the bottom of a very large dog-pile, her face red with laughter. Children of different ages climbed on top of her, all of them grinning. He identified one of the kids as Yunshin. He picked up another picture, this one of Akane and a small baby.

Ranma glanced at the other pictures, on the table and in the others' hands. All of them had children in them, all of them always smiling at Akane or the camera. He spotted a picture that looked a little different. This one was of an old man with a long gray beard, with children gathered all around him, listening to him tell a story.

Nabiki broke the emotional silence. "Wait a minute…I know this place!" She showed the picture she was holding to everyone else. It was of a small hut, high in the mountains. In front of the hut was the old man again, standing next to Akane. All around them were children, laughing and waving at the camera. Next to the hut was a sign that said "Nishao Orphanage".

Kasumi gasped and Soun started.

"Isn't that where-?" Kasumi started.

Soun nodded. "Yes. We visited that orphanage back when your mother was still alive, because of the festival in Nishao village. But why would Akane be there?"

"She showed up last summer," Yunshin piped up. "She had been looking for sensei, for some scrolls of his or something, but ended up staying instead."

"You were an orphan there?" Kasumi asked worriedly.

Yunshin shrugged and gave a small smile. "All of my life." Kasumi hurried around the table to put an arm around him.

Nabiki suddenly stood up, pulling her palm pilot out.

"It won't do any good," Yunshin said. "She's not there anymore." Nabiki glared angrily before slumping into her chair again.

"Is that why you came here, then, son?" Genma asked Yunshin. "Were you looking for Akane?"

Yunshin shook his head. "No, I was with her when I decided to come here. She had to go a different way, and so we split up."

"Did you really?" Soun asked, inching closer. "Do you know where she is now? Is she near by?"

Yunshin shook his head, and Soun sunk back, looking defeated. Kasumi looked at the clock.

"Ranma, if you don't hurry you're going to be late for school." She told him. Ranma glanced up at the clock.

"Shoot!" He hopped up and raced to the door.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Yunshin tsked, leaning against the frame of the door as Ranma pulled on his shoes. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Uh, no?"

"I gave you information. You owe me."

Ranma paused for a second. "What?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing big, I just want you to take me to school with you." Yunshin shrugged.

"No way!"

"Ok. Then I'll just take those pictures back." Yunshin held his hand out for the one still in Ranma's hand. He held it tighter.

"Fine, but I'm not gonna help ya. With anything." Ranma stressed, grabbing his backpack. "See if you can keep up." He leapt out the door and down the street. _Heh, stupid brat, _he thought, looking back. "What the—?"

Yunshin was only a few feet behind him. _The kid's better than I thought._ Ranma smirked. _Let's see how MUCH better._ Ranma sped up, hopping to a fence and then across the rooftops. After a few minutes her turned back. Yunshin wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Ha!" Ranma said, jumping back to the main road. Ranma heard laughing nearby.

"Hurry up, Ranma!" Yunshin shouted from a fence across the street. "Or you might loose me!" Yunshin sped off again.

"Oh, yeah?" Ranma grinned, running after him.

Ukyo walked along the street, sighing. Ranma hadn't been in his usual place. Heck, even Shampoo hadn't been there this morning! "That hussy," Ukyo growled. "What has she done to Ran-chan?" She stopped in the middle of crushing a light pole with her bare hands as she saw the very man in her thoughts run by. "Ran-chan!" She was about to call out to him when she froze. He was happily running along the fence, smiling. He was _happily_ running along the fence, _smiling_. Happy. SMILING. Ukyo's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my…" She ran after them, the school gates just ahead.

"Ranma Saotome, who is this?" The teacher asked when Ranma—early for once—got to the classroom, Yunshin breathing heavy beside him. Ukyo came up just behind them a few seconds later.

"Erm, this is…" Ranma scratched the back of his neck.

Yunshin stepped forward, bowing to the class. "I am Yunshin Hikawa, I am staying at the Tendo Dojo, and I have permission to come to school with Ranma today."

The teacher and class looked surprised at such a young boy's respect. The teacher nodded. "Um, yes, well then, you can stay." Ranma and Ukyo sat in their regular seats and a chair was brought for Yunshin so he could sit next to Ranma.

The first class was uneventful.

Well, almost.

Minutes before the bell rang, the door slammed open. In stormed the new faculty advisor…Tatewaki Kuno.

"Saotome, what is the meaning of this?" Kuno demanded, holding the attendance papers in his hand. "This says you have a child with you. A CHILD. Who do you think you are, bringing unauthorized students who should be at their own school to such a place as this?" He pulled his bokken out. "To the detention room, now, or I will smite thee to the ground. Now, Saotome-scum, or you shall feel the wrath of the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High! Bow before me, you—"

"My, my. Thunder of Furinkan High, you say? You must be Kuno."

Ranma did a double take from Yunshin's empty seat and back to Yunshin who was crouching on the teacher's desk. He had his notebook out, and was scribbling something down as he watched Kuno.

"Erm, yes, I am Tatewaki Kuno. And, you are?" Kuno looked at Yunshin curiously.

Yunshin extended a hand. "I am Yunshin Hikawa. I am staying at the Tendo Dojo. I have heard much about you, Kuno-sempai."

Kuno blinked. "Sempai?" He smirked running a hand through his hair. "Yes, well, many men come from near and far when they hear the mighty name of the Kuno family. Might I ask, young man, how you know of my goodly deeds?"

Ranma rolled his eyes as roses danced around behind Kuno, singing, "We love you Kuno!" He was saved from more pain as the bell rang and the stampeding class quickly smothered the sparkling petals flat.

"Very well, young man, I have decided!" Kuno wrapped an arm around Yunshin's shoulder. "I shall take you on as my apprentice! You shall become as my son!"

"Say what?" Ranma pulled himself off the floor and snatched Yunshin from Kuno's arms. "No way Yunshin's gonna be your apprentice, Kuno!"

"Oh? Doth the great sorcerer Saotome claim the boy for himself? Very well, I accept your challenge. Whoever shall win this duel shall keep the boy to raise for himself, and—"

Bam!

Yunshin clicked more led from his pencil as Ranma lowered his fist.

"Akane was right about him. Note to self: Kuno is a freak, steer clear." Yunshin walked out the door as he wrote, Ranma following behind.

"Hey, Ranma, who's the kid?" Daisuke asked, running up to him.

"Kinda cute little dude, where'd you get him?" Hiroshi asked as Yunshin pretended not to notice them.

Ranma shrugged. "Showed up on my front doorstep."

"Man, I swear. The Dojo is like a cursed lost puppy finder." Daisuke said.

"Lost puppy finder?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's, like, the only place in town where people just randomly show up from all places in the world." Hiroshi laughed.

"Old man Tendo's just to kind to throw 'em all out. Don't you agree, Ranma?" Daisuke elbowed Ranma in the rib teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah, get outta here, ya losers." Ranma rolled his eyes as they ran off laughing.

"Are those your friends?" Yunshin asked, scribbling something else as he watched the two boys whistle at a girl walking by.

"Hmm? Yeah..."

"Interesting…" Yunshin wrote things down left and right through each of Ranma's classes. Ranma watched him as he watched others do weird things. Every once in a while he would try to peek at what Yunshin was writing, but all he could catch was graphite and upside down letters.

"What do you keep writing down in there?" Ranma finally asked him at lunch.

"Everything and anything I might need to know," Yunshin replied casually. "For example; did you know that Oni Giri, a girl from class A-3, has been betrothed to the boy who sits next to you in your history class?"

Ukyo, Daisuke, and Hiroshi leaned closer.

"Are you serious?"

Yunshin nodded. "But Oni is in denial. She loves him, but doesn't want to admit it, so she's been dating two different guys from the university just to spite her betrothed. He just found out last week and there was some sort of argument. But it seems he's planning to patch it up with roses and a candle light dinner."

They stared at him.

"How do you know all that?" Ukyo asked him.

Yunshin shrugged. "I just listen and watch."

"You got anything about me in there?" Hiroshi asked, trying to get a look at the notebook.

"You want the good news or the bad news first?" Yunshin asked him while flipping back a few pages.

Hiroshi grinned. "Hit me with the good news."

"The good news is that a girl in your homeroom is planning on asking you out."

"Seriously? All right!" Hiroshi just about jumped up and down in happiness.

"The bad news is that she has an extremely possessive boyfriend, who also happens to be none other than your best friend."

Hiroshi froze as Daisuke eyed him.

"You hitting on my girlfriend, Hiroshi, old buddy, old pal?" Daisuke said icily, putting a death grip on Hiroshi's shoulder.

"N-no, I swear, I haven't ever flirted with her on purpose! It was all her! She came on to me!"

"You're DEAD!" Daisuke lunged for Hiroshi's throat as he chased him across the schoolyard.

Yunshin snickered. Ranma shook his head and Ukyo just ignored them.

"So what do you have on me, sugar?" She asked Yunshin.

"Nothing that you don't already know. But I can tell you your future."

"Oh, really?" Ukyo she shared a smile with Ranma who smirked.

"Yep." They waited as he cleared his throat. "You will be engaged in an unwanted training exercise if you do not escape your educational cage before the clock rings."

"You talkin' in metaphors, now, eh, kiddo?" Ranma rubbed his knuckles on the top of Yunshin's head.

"That wasn't a metaphor, but, yes, it makes the whole experience much more fun." Yunshin grinned. "Although it seems that your chance has just escaped because your personal trainer for your 'unwanted training exercise' has just arrived."

Ukyo blinked at him, puzzled, when, on que as always, a bike bell rang.

"Nihao, Ranma! Shampoo heard you brought new student to schools, so she brought you a too-too delicious lunch, just for you and your special friend!" She wrapped her arms around Ranma's neck, shoving a sizzling bowl of noodles just under his nose. For a split second Ranma almost reached up to grab it, before he noticed the tinny fish swimming around in the broth.

"Uh, no thanks, Shampoo, I'm not hungry."

"Oh, please, Ranma! Is good for you!"

"He said he didn't want it, you bimbo!" Ukyo pulled her giant spatula from her back and flung the bowl across the yard.

"Spatula girl, you go too far!" Shampoo hopped in front of Ranma, her aura glowing purple.

"Whoa," Yunshin elbowed Ranma in the ribs. "Two girls fighting over you? Ranma, you got the life."

"Quick," Ranma turned, motioning for Yunshin to follow. "Let's get out of here before more people show up." Yunshin tugged on his sleeve before he could move any further.

"Who dared to throw this fowl bowl of noodles upon the head of the mighty Kuno?"

"Too late," Ranma groaned, turning to look at what Yunshin was pointing at.

"They're her noodles!" Ukyo thrust her finger in Shampoo's face.

"Very well, since you are a fairly attractive young woman, if ye defeat me in combat I shall forgive you and I shall allow you to date with me!" Kuno leveled his bokken in a scoffing Shampoo's face.

"How dare you speak that way to my Shampoo?"

Ranma smacked himself in the forehead as Yunshin watched in awe. "Oh no…"

Kuno barely dodged a flurry of spears and chains before Mouse landed on the ground next to him.

"Hoo-tah! Who be makin' a ruckus on de big Kahuna's school ground?"

"I give up." Ranma groaned and slumped to the ground. Yunshin poked him.

"Now, now, little wahine, you know bett'a than that!" The principle tsked at Ukyo. "You hav'in ta be punished for makin' a fight on the big Kahuna's prop'a'ty!"

"What? I didn't start this!" Ukyo cried indignantly, waving her spatula around.

"Ooh, ya? Den who be statin' it?" The principle snapped his hair clippers threateningly.

Ukyo looked at the principle, who looked at Mouse, who looked at Kuno, who looked at Shampoo, who looked at Ukyo, who glared back at Shampoo, who looked around frantically before settling her eyes on Ranma.

"I shoulda known, ya." The ground of martial artists advanced on Ranma who scooted back rapidly.

"What? How is it my fault? I didn't even do anything!"

"Wait a minute!"

The group stopped to look back at Ukyo.

"He's right, it isn't his fault! Because Shampoo never would have come if she hadn't known that Yunshin was here!" Ukyo explained. Yunshin watched curiously as Ranma made 'no, stop!' signs in Ukyo's direction. "And Ranma wouldn't have brought him to school except—"

Ranma lunged forward to try and stop her. "No, Ukyo, wait, don't!"

"—except that Yunshin knows about Akane!" Ukyo finished, a soft hush coming over the fighters and audience at the last few words.

"Akane?"

"He knows about Akane?"

"He should tell us!"

"Yeah!"

"Uh…" Yunshin watched as the martial artists and surrounding students begin to advance on him. Ranma grabbed the boy and hopped to the nearest fence.

"Run!" Ranma sprinted over the fence and down the street.

"Waaah!" Yunshin screamed as he looked behind and saw the entire student body hopping the fence and racing after them. "Run faster, Ranma, faster!"

"I'm goin' I'm goin'!"

The city of Nerima watched as an ominous dust cloud surpassed the speed limit as it rushed through town. The cops didn't even bother chasing after it when they saw a young man in a red shirt at the front of the group.

The following sounds sprung from the cloud:

"Where is violent spatula girl? Shampoo fight her!"

"Hoo-tah! My bes' student tis comin' back to her lovin' Kahuna!"

"I must stop my darling Shampoo from fighting Akane Tendo, for if she loses, Saotome shall have her forever!"

"Don't worry, Ranma honey, I'll help ya fight off all these people! But you have to slow down first so I can catch up to you!"

"I shall win the fair heart of Akane Tendo by taking her young friend as my apprentice! Then when she returns home, she shall woo me, for she shall be impressed by my abilities to care for such a child!"

"Oh, ho, ho, ho! So, the devilish Akane returns eh? I shall prepare something special for her! Oh, ho, ho!"

"Akane! Yay, she's coming home!"

"Like you care, you don't even know her!"

"Yes I do, she's my best friend!"

"Since when?"

"Since that time that we were both in Nepal and she rescued a man named Dr. Jones! Then Dr. Jones took me and Akane to Egypt with him and we helped him battle mummies and snakes so he could find an old ark!"

"What? That never happened!"

"Yes it did! You just don't remember because some guy named Vadar hypnotized you, and he took you away on a space ship! Where do you think you got that glowing laser sword thing?"

"But that wasn't Akane with you, that was Kagome!"

"It was?"

"Yeah! Remember? And then her dumb white dog came to get her? And he was all mutated, so he had the face of a human? What did she call him…oh! Inuyasha!"

"Oh, yeah, that's right! So what are we doing here?"

"Beats me."

"Let's get out of here and get some ice cream."

"Ok."

That's how it went as the ominous cloud passed through Nerima…

* * *

"Talk to me," Nabiki demanded after answering the phone.

"Um, yes, ma'am," the man on the other side paused for a minute. "Well, Nabiki, it seems we have something for you."

Nabiki stood from her computer, rolling her eyes. The screen flicked between all different pictures of Akane at the orphanage that Nabiki had just scanned for analysis. "What is it? It better be worth my time."

"Y-yes, don't worry, I'm absolutely sure it is. It's about your sister."

"If it's about the orphanage, I already know."

"Well, actually, there's more to it. I'm sending you the web page now, it should be in your inbox."

Nabiki turned to the computer again and brought up the Internet. "What's the info?"

"It's a legal document. It was just published from the Tokyo Government Office about ten minutes ago. It's _very _interesting. You're definitely going to want to take a look at it."

Nabiki opened the file and scanned through the first page. It was a bunch of crap about some legal background information on Akane. The second page was the same, but the third was more interesting. At the very top there was a seal with the initials O.L.A.J.—The Organization of Legal Adoption in Japan. Nabiki stared at the page. She scanned through it. It was a bunch of rules about parenthood and about the social and academic ability of Akane. The next page was more rules, this time it mostly talked about a trial period where the children would stay with the parent, while watched by the government to make sure they were being taken care of properly. Nabiki flipped to the next page. It was all about single parenting and about whether or not Akane would be able to financially support the children until they were able to support themselves.

The last paragraph on the last page read:

_The Government of Tokyo and The Organization of Legal Adoption in Japan hereby puts in the care of Akane Tendo the lives of three children. She will be put in a trial period, visited regularly by an agent from the office. The agent will interview Akane Tendo and the children. If the agent and Government find Akane Tendo unsuitable for caring for these three children, they will be taken from her and put in a foster home until Akane Tendo can reclaim them, or until a more appropriate home can be found. Until then, the tree children will take upon them the name of Tendo. This contract is binding, and cannot be withdrawn for any reason other than that which opposes the law or should Akane Tendo wish to marry, in which case the Government will request another conference with Akane Tendo and her future spouse, to discuss the future of the children._

Beneath the paragraph was the signature of the senator of the Tokyo Government building. Next to his was Akane's neat cursive signature. Just below hers were the scrawled names of three more people, all with the last name Tendo.

Nabiki leaned back in her chair and eyebrows raised high. "Well, well, sis, what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

* * *

Ranma and Yunshin finally lost the crowd after Yunshin pulled down a circus tent as they ran past, and Jasmine, the residing elephant, turned into a big black monster and attacked all the people in the crowd mercilessly, at the orders of her owner, some ring-master named 'Lichee'.

"So…wheeze…that happens…all the time?" Yunshin gasped for air as he and Ranma sat against an alley wall where they were hiding.

"Kiddo…huff…you have NO idea…"

A/N: So, uh, there it is. They didn't really get very much done in this chapter, but you know…at least I updated, right? Heh heh…ok…Ahem. So, anyway, if you don't get the part about the people in the cloud, then to bad! But if you do get it, then, just know that I was really bored when I wrote that part, ok? OK? You'd better, or I'll skin you all alive! Mwahaha!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I LOVE ALL OF YOU! You're all so wonderful and incredibly kind! +Sniff sniff+ So I tried my hardest to update as soon as I could, just for you! Yes, you, on the front row! Come up here, you big lug! +Squeezes you to death+

Adopted

Chapter 3

"I'm home!" Ranma hollered, walking in the door, his school bag over his shoulder.

"Then look out!"

Ranma jumped back barely in time to avoid Yunshin, who was running past, pushing a rag along the floor. When he reached the wall he turned and ran back the other way, leaving streaks of shiny clean floor behind him. Ranma followed him back into the living room curiously.

The whole room was emitting the smell of fresh lemons and cleaning detergent. Soun and Genma were moving furniture to the backyard, making way for Yunshin to clean the floors. Kasumi was standing on a chair, using a dusting rag to clean the high corners of the ceiling. Nabiki was sitting on the floor, the phone caught between her shoulder and ear, her palm pilot in her hand.

"No, I don't want ten cartons of Arm&Hammer! I said I wanted _one_ carton of _Pinesol_! Are you incompetent?" Nabiki scowled as she yelled at the person on the other end.

Ranma hopped over Yunshin and his rag again as he made his way towards Kasumi.

"What's goin' on?" He asked her.

"Oh, Ranma! Welcome home!" She stepped down off the chair and led him towards the backyard. "I just decided that it was time to clean up a little bit. Would you mind helping us wipe down and polish up the furniture?" She gestured toward the pile on the grass.

Ranma smiled down at her gently. This was Kasumi's way of saying she was nervous about Akane coming home. "Sure, no prob, I can help."

Ranma took up a wet rag and scrubbed down the chairs and table. When he was finished, he vacuumed the couch and cushions, silently cheering every time he found a coin wedged between the pillows. Nabiki came out to bring him the Pinesol for polishing the wood furniture. Before she left, she held out her hand and told Ranma to empty his pockets. Ranma sighed and handed her the coins. She said it was for a good 'cause. Ranma just rolled his eyes.

* * *

"So, Yunshin," Nabiki said, leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen.

Yunshin paused in scraping the grime from the inside of the stove. "Yeah?"

Nabiki leaned down to help him. "You're an orphan, huh?"

Yunshin eyed her suspiciously. "Yes…"

"How long?"

"Why?"

"I'm just curious." Nabiki shrugged innocently.

"About eight years." Yunshin started scrapping again.

"Really? And you've been at Nishao all that time?"

"Yeah. I guess my grandparents dropped me off there when my parents died. My grandparents were old, and my grandpa was dying, so they weren't able to take care of me. I've been with sensei at Nishao ever since." Yunshin spoke casually. Nabiki watched him closely, to see if he was just acting, but it seemed he genuinely didn't mind about his past.

"So, uh, you ever think about being adopted?" Nabiki asked, wincing at the flakes of black that were coming from the inside of the stove.

"Naw, I liked being at Nishao. At one point I even wanted to grow up and inherit the place." Yunshin paused and eyed Nabiki knowingly. "But I'm still a kid. I can change my mind."

Nabiki grinned. "You're a good kid, Yunshin. I'm going to enjoy our new little relationship."

"As am I, _Aunt Nabiki_."

Nabiki paused at the new prefix. It sounded odd, and made her feel kind of old, but she found she didn't mind it coming from this little boy. She took Yunshin's hand and dumped a handful of old coins into his palm. "Yunshin, would you mind running an errand for me?"

"Sure…"

* * *

Ranma slumped on the newly cleaned and replaced couch. The sun was going down and they had just barely finished putting back all the furniture. Soun and Genma (panda form) had collapsed on the floor in front of him, wheezing and coughing like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh, grow up, you two," Nabiki rolled her eyes at them. "A little bit of house work doesn't hurt anybody."

"Everyone's tired, and I'm sure they're hungry, so I suppose I had better get dinner ready." Kasumi, with her hair frazzled and her body slumped from tiredness trudged to the kitchen.

"No worries, sis," Nabiki turned Kasumi around and sat her down at the table. "I got it all taken care of."

Ranma looked around. "Where's Yunshin?"

Soun and Genma looked around then shrugged.

"When was the last time someone saw him?" Ranma hopped off the couch and hurried into the kitchen, slightly worried.

"Like I said," Nabiki said when he came back to the living room. "I got it all taken care of."

With impeccable timing, the doorbell rang.

"Oh! That must be him now," Kasumi said. She didn't bother getting up to get the door because Yunshin was already walking through it.

"I'm back!" Yunshin said brightly as he walked around the corner into the living room. In his arms was a stack of pizza boxes. Ukyo walked in behind him seconds later.

"Nothin' like some Japanese style pizzas after a hard day's work, eh, sugar?" Ukyo grinned around the room as she set her stack down next to Yunshin's on the table. Soun and Genma—remarkably revived from their coma at the smell of food—were at the table in milliseconds, watching Ukyo with teary eyes.

"My dear, you are amazing," Soun said as he lifted up an okinomiyaki.

"-Ukyo,-" Genma's sign read. He flipped it over. "-I love you.-"

Ukyo laughed. "No problem. A little elf hopped into my place and told me all about what you guys were up to." She ruffled Yunshin's hair.

"Hey, you freeloader, back away from the okinomiyaki!" Nabiki stabbed the back of Genma's paw with her chopsticks. He started to tear up and dropped her food. He backed down at Nabiki's glare as everyone laughed.

Ranma smiled to himself as he sat down. He didn't think he'd seen them this lively in almost a year. And it wasn't just the clean house or the warm food. He turned and grinned down at Yunshin. He was laughing at Soun who was reprimanding his daughter for injuring an endangered animal. Nabiki ignored him and ate her food while glaring at the back wall.

"What?" Yunshin asked when he noticed Ranma smiling at him.

"Nothin'," Ranma dropped an okinomiyaki on Yunshin's plate. "Eat something."

Yunshin eyed him suspiciously for a minute before digging in. "Don't think that means you'll get a fact about Akane." Yunshin said through a mouth of food. "It doesn't count!"

Ranma just grinned.

* * *

Ranma yawned as he walked along the fence. His school bag was slung over his shoulder. Yunshin walked along beside him, writing something in his notebook as they passed the old lady with water who was washing her sidewalk.

Yunshin suddenly put his notebook away. "Ranma, do you feel…kind of odd?"

"Odd? How so?" Ranma reached down to feel Yunshin's forehead. "You're not gettin' sick, are ya?"

"No, I mean, doesn't today feel kind of odd? It's almost…ominous. Like something bad is going to happen." Yunshin looked around worriedly.

"If you're worried because Mr. Tendo was dressed like a woman this morning and Kasumi was baking cat-tofu, don't worry, that happens sometimes." Ranma dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Besides, isn't cat-tofu a good omen? I think—"

Ranma froze as he saw someone up ahead. It was a young woman leaning over the fence, looking into the canal. She was wearing a white wedding dress that was flowing behind her. "It can't be…" Ranma muttered.

Yunshin looked up and followed Ranma's gaze. "Is that…?"

Ranma broke into a run toward the woman.

"Wait! Ranma! It isn't her! It's not Akane! Don't!" Yunshin cried after Ranma, but his voice sounded far away, as if from another room.

Ranma stopped just behind the girl. He took a step forward and reached out to touch her shoulder. Right before he made contact, she spoke.

"Sunsets are pretty, aren't they? Especially when reflected on the water."

Ranma looked up at the sky. The sun _was_ setting. Odd, hadn't it been rising just a moment ago? And circling the sun seemed to be black birds. No, wait…they looked more like little black pigs with wings, all of them wearing yellow bandanas…They all seemed to be snorting and oinking at him, as though they were laughing.

"What the…" Ranma squinted at the flying pigs and started to turn to see them better.

"Ranma," the girl said, grabbing Ranma's arm just before he put his back to her.

Ranma turned back around and gasped. Standing before him was most definitely not Akane. It was man with a full on black beard. He was wearing makeup and it was running as if he had been crying. Why the heck was this man wearing Akane's wedding dress?

"Ranma," the person's serene, girly voice had disappeared, to be replaced by a rasping man's baritone. "Don't you recognize me? Don't you remember me?"

Ranma backed away as the person advanced, sobbing manly tears and repeating his name over and over.

"I warned you, Ranma."

Ranma turned to look at Yunshin. "Yunshin, c'mon, you gotta help me! This person—"

"It's too late, Ranma," Yunshin said darkly. "You didn't listen to me. You didn't trust me." He took a few steps toward Ranma. "Now you've seen too much. I'll have to dispose of you."

Yunshin reached toward Ranma, and he seemed to get larger, to become more menacing.

"No, wait, Yunshin, I do trust you, don't—!"

Yunshin's hand barely touched Ranma's chest but he was blown backwards, crashing through the wire fence. He fell, down and down, into the bloody red canal below. The last thing he saw before he crashed through the water were the laughing black piglets as they flew around him like vultures…

"Don't kill me Yunshin!"

Bam!

"Ouch!" Ranma rubbed his head as he read the sign he had just been hit with.

"-Shut up, boy,-" Genma-panda flipped it over. "-I'm trying to sleep.-"

Ranma looked around the dark room as Genma snuggled back down on his futon. "Just a dream," Ranma said to himself, lying back down. "Just a _really weird_ dream…"

* * *

Ranma never really got back to sleep that night. Every time he closed his eyes he saw a crying man in a white dress. It gave him Goosebumps. He gave up after a while and changed into his Gi. He still had hours before school started, and he hadn't trained in the morning in a couple days.

The house was completely quiet in the mornings. It was a relief. Before, Ranma would have given anything just to be able to sleep-in in the mornings. But now it was the only time where he could ever get a moments peace.

The Dojo wasn't empty this morning, though.

Ranma slid open the door and watched as Yunshin ran through a series of katas. He recognized Yunshin's form almost immediately. He was going through his exercises the same way Akane used to do.

Yunshin was halfway through a particularly difficult kata when he suddenly slipped and fell.

"Dangit!" Yunshin muttered, getting back to his feet. "I always mess up right there."

Ranma chuckled. That's the same place where Akane always used to fall, too.

"Here," Ranma said, entering the room. "Run through it again, I'll show you what you did wrong."

He watched Yunshin go through it, and right before he got to the difficult part, Ranma stopped him. "You're moving too fast. Slow down right before you do this kick and you won't get thrown off balance. Put your fist up, too, it helps even the body weight."

Yunshin did as he said, moving through it perfectly. "Whoa. Cool!"

Ranma stood next to Yunshin and they did another series of katas, in perfect unison.

They slid the doors to the yard open as the sun started to come up.

"Why are you up so early?" Yunshin asked Ranma as they moved their practice to the grass.

"Erm, just couldn't sleep. How 'bout you?"

"Couldn't sleep either, especially with the 'Don't kill me, Yunshin!' that the whole house heard." Yunshin snickered when Ranma flushed.

"Was I really screaming that loud?"

"Almost as if I was really trying to kill you. What were you dreaming about, anyway?" Yunshin grinned.

"Heh, uh, just some weird stuff…" Ranma took a defensive stance to change the topic. "So, uh, how long have you been doing martial arts?"

Yunshin shrugged. "Five years."

"Oh yeah? You're pretty good. Ya know, for a kid."

"Thanks. But I didn't really start getting good until Akane came to stay. She taught me a lot."

Ranma nodded and smirked. He knew it. Akane was always eager to show off what she knew. And without Ranma or any other of the martial artists from Nerima there, she was probably the best one around.

"Wanna spar?" He asked Yunshin.

Yunshin cracked his knuckles. "Sure, but I'm warning you, I'm better than I look."

Ranma dodged and twirled as Yunshin threw punches and kicks at him. He grinned when he saw Yunshin get frustrated that he couldn't lay a finger on him. He slowed down and crouched slightly, bringing himself down to Yunshin height.

"C'mon, you'll have to hit harder than that!" Ranma said as Yunshin punched him in the shoulder. "Concentrate! You can't just flail around wildly!" Yunshin just got madder and moved faster. "Nope, wait, stop." Ranma stopped moving and so did Yunshin. He took a deep breath and gestured for Yunshin to do the same. "Now, concentrate. Think before you move."

Yunshin came at him again, but this time with that hard, determined look. Ranma took a swipe at him, just to see what he would do. Yunshin ducked under it, rolled between Ranma's legs and kicked him in the back of the knees. Ranma fell flat on his back.

"That was good!" He said to Yunshin, who beamed with happiness. "Ready? Let's do it again."

Yunshin nodded excitedly and Ranma smiled down at him.

* * *

Kasumi thrust open the back doors and smiled at Ranma and Yunshin on the lawn. They didn't stop what they were doing, but paused to nod at her. Kasumi's smile broadened. She turned back to the kitchen, humming to herself.

"Oh my," she said when she noticed the spring in her step. She did feel lighter hearted today. She felt like she had a purpose. She opened all the windows in the kitchen, pausing to enjoy the breeze.

"Is it just me," Nabiki said, coming into the kitchen as Kasumi started breakfast. "Or do those two seem alike to you?" Nabiki jerked her chin toward the open doors and the back yard.

Kasumi smiled. "I think it's good for Ranma. He hasn't had someone to relate to in a long time. He's grown up too fast."

"Huh," Nabiki grunted. "Figures the only one he can relate to is a ten year old."

Kasumi turned to smile at her. "My, you look nice this morning. What's the occasion?" Kasumi asked.

"Do I?" Nabiki pulled on her black suit jacket and straightened out her slacks. She was wearing makeup and had straightened her hair this morning. "We're having a guest tonight. Would you mind making something special for dinner?"

"Of course I wouldn't mind!" Kasumi giggled. "What would you like me to make?"

"Do you have the recipe for Udon Noodles and Curry stir fry?"

"Oh, yes. That used to be Akane's favorite meal. I have it memorized." Kasumi smiled as Nabiki nodded to her and left the kitchen. Her humming became louder as she thought about dinner. For some reason, making Akane's favorite dish didn't bother her like it used to. She returned to her work with twice the vigor.

Nabiki stopped Ranma and Yunshin just as they were walking through the door.

"Goodness, look at you two," Nabiki scrunched her nose as she saw them covered in sweat. "Go get cleaned up, would you? And try to stay clean, we're having a very important guest for dinner." Nabiki stopped as her cell-phone rang. "What? No, I don't want a regular taxi! I wanted the limo company, idiot!" She nodded to Ranma and Yunshin as she turned and walked out the door, talking into the phone. "If you mess this up today, I will make sure you never have another job again…"

Yunshin looked at Ranma with wide eyes and he just shrugged. They headed to the bathroom, smiling as they heard Kasumi singing to herself in the kitchen.

* * *

"Hey, hey, Yunshin!" Soun danced a little closer as he twirled his noisemaker and waved his fan around. "Look over here!"

"Look at this, m'boy!" Genma hopped up and down on his head, balancing carefully on top of a rubber ball. Little sparks flew from his sleeves as he waved them around, blowing confetti everywhere.

Yunshin sighed again as he watched the clock. He dropped his chin in his hands, resting his elbows on the table, when it had only advanced a minute. He was so BORED. He lolled his head side to side. Ranma wasn't home yet, Nabiki wouldn't be back for a few more hours, and Kasumi had gone out for groceries. Was there no one left here to entertain him?

"Yunshin! Hey, look at this—!" Soun stood on one foot, balancing the fan on his nose. He put his hands in the air. "Ta-da! W-whoa!" He lost his balance, toppling back into Genma, who rolled backward off the ball, falling into the back door.

"Ouch," Genma moaned from underneath a dizzy Soun, confetti falling softly around them.

The ball slowly rolled across the room, bumping into Yunshin's knee. Yunshin picked it up and balanced it on his finger, twirling it around and around.

"I'm home!" Someone hollered from the doorway.

Yunshin sprung up as fast as he could, jumping onto Ranma as he entered the living room.

"Whoa, hey there!" Ranma smiled.

"Ranma! Thank goodness you're home! I've been so bored." Yunshin clung to Ranma's neck, dangling his feet over the ground.

"Hello, son," Genma said, trying to act cool as he pulled himself out from under Soun.

"Have a good day at school?" Soun asked, pulling the fan from his hair.

Ranma eyed them suspiciously as he lowered Yunshin to the ground. He didn't even bother asking about the confetti in their hair. He turned to Yunshin who was looking up at him with wide eyes. "How was your day?" He asked.

Yunshin beamed. "It was good! Kasumi and I made some cookies earlier! They were peanut butter!"

Ranma chuckled. "Oh really?"

"Yeah!" Yunshin jumped up and down, bursting with excitement. "And then your dad turned into a panda and let me ride him to the park. You should have seen all the kids that were staring!"

"Well, I'm glad," Ranma ruffled Yunshin's hair. The front door opened and shut again and Kasumi walked in with an armful of groceries.

"Hello, everyone!" She smiled at them all cheerfully.

"Ah," Yunshin ran over to her. "I'll help you with those!"

"Thank you," Kasumi and Yunshin disappeared into the kitchen. Ranma smiled after them.

"That boy seems to fit well with our family," Soun commented.

"Yes, everyone seems to have taken a liking to him," Genma grinned at Sound and then at Ranma slyly. Ranma frowned. What were they cooking up?

"Hmm, yes, _everyone_," Soun elbowed Genma with a wink. In seconds both men were patting Ranma on the shoulder knowingly.

"You know, " Soun said. "It's a shame a good kid like Yunshin doesn't have a family."

Genma smiled wickedly. "Girls are suckers for single fathers…"

Ranma started. The subject of fiancées or marriage had been unanimously banned since Akane left. The contract Genma and Soun had to marry their children had been pretty much dismissed. The three men were very sensitive about it, and hardly dared think about it, let alone talk about it.

Ranma wasn't quite sure what to say. He was irritated that they were trying to set him up with more girls to make _more_ trouble for him. Ranma wasn't sure if he was in love with Akane; he had never really had time to test those grounds. But he did know that he hated the thought of forgetting her, of just moving off and wooing some girl he hardly knew. He didn't even _want_ to know any other girls. He was completely content where he was, in the Tendo home.

He snapped back to reality, trying to shake the weird thoughts. The two men hadn't noticed he'd spaced out. They were guffawing to themselves and their brilliantness. Ranma didn't even think they knew what they were talking about. He supposed it was just the light mood, the at ease air they had had the last few days—the confirmation that their baby girl and ex-future-maybe-still-possible-daughter-in-law was coming home.

Ranma decided to answer, but carefully, so as not to remind them what they were saying. He wasn't really in the mood for Soun's tears right now.

"Pops," Ranma said airily, grabbing his father by the front of his Gi. "Why are you here again? Maybe I should call Mom?"

Genma froze up and Soun snickered. "Erm, no son, that's not necessary…"

"I thought you guys were gonna be living together. Did you make her angry again or something?" Ranma asked innocently. "Surely your life wouldn't be in _danger_ would it?"

Genma started to sweat as Soun burst out laughing. Ranma turned, feeling successful in his evasion, as he walked away from the two men who had started a confetti fight.

* * *

Ranma paused in what he was doing to smell the air. Kasumi had started making dinner and the smells drifted toward him on a happy little breeze. Genma and Soun, after helping set the table—with one extra spot for their guest—were sitting in front of the TV. Both had tears in their eyes as they watched a show about endangered pandas.

"Come on, Ranma!" Yunshin said, bringing Ranma's attention back to him.

Ranma and Yunshin were sitting on the back porch, drinking lemonade and playing rock-paper-scissors to see who would help clean up after dinner. So far they were up to best 11 out of 20. They counted to three and then both showed their signs.

"Haha!" Yunshin said, snapping his scissor fingers. "Eleven! I win!"

"Best sixteen out of thirty!" Ranma demanded glaring at his paper hand. Yunshin smirked and readied his hand again.

The screeching of tires outside caught everyone's attention. Kasumi stepped out of the kitchen as Soun and Genma turned off the TV.

"Oh my," Kasumi smiled. "That must be Nabiki now."

They heard the slamming of car doors and then it was quiet for a moment.

Ranma and Yunshin turned as they felt someone walk up behind them. Ranma blinked, confused. It was a young girl, a few years younger than Yunshin. She stood on the grass, her arms folded. Her hair was wavy and walnut colored, hanging down to her waist. She was wearing clothes just like Yunshin's. They were old and dusty, with tares in the sleeves and knees. But despite her appearance, she looked down her nose at them with dark, amused eyes.

"Well, well, big brother," She stepped forward, toward Yunshin. "Long time no see."

"Kimiko!" Yunshin gasped, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Kimiko didn't say anything, just eyed him coldly. Then, all of a sudden, she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Yunshin. Yunshin sighed, patting her shoulder. Yunshin suddenly gasped. Kimiko was squeezing him so hard all the air was being forced out of him. There was a snapping sound as Yunshin's back cracked. Kimiko pulled away, glaring down at Yunshin.

"You idiot," She snapped, smacking him on the head. "Do you know how worried we've been? Especially mom." She smirked as Yunshin paled. Ranma looked back and forth between them as they passed some sort of silent message. Yunshin and Ranma jumped as they heard the front door slam open. Kimiko shook her head. "You are so dead."

"Where is he?" Someone demanded from the doorway.

Ranma's jaw dropped at the voice. What? Ranma stood slowly, staring at the living room door, just waiting for the owner of the voice to walk through it at any moment. He was barely aware of Yunshin standing up next to him.

"Oh no," Yunshin whispered. He dashed across the living room and bounded up the stairs, disappearing down the hall. Kimiko just sighed and stepped into the house.

Steps echoed down the hall as a series of feet walked toward the living room. Nabiki stepped through the doorway. She scanned the room, nodded toward Kimiko, and then walked to the side.

Time seemed to freeze as the next person walked in. Ranma was afraid to breath; he didn't want to shatter the moment as Akane walked into the room.

She was the most beautiful thing Ranma had ever seen. She had grown. Her cheekbones were high, making her eyes look brighter and her lips seem plumper. She had truly grown into her curves, now. Ranma didn't know how he could have ever called her shapeless. Her hands and legs were long and slender, making her seem taller than she really was. It didn't matter that she was wearing ratty, colorless, second hand clothes. She was glowing.

Ranma's chest constricted and he remembered he was holding his breath. He exhaled slowly. She was looking calmly around the room with an unreadable expression on her face. She only paused for a millisecond as she saw Kasumi, Soun, and Genma. Ranma's breath hitched again as, in slow motion, she turned towards him.

What would she think? What would she say? Would she say anything at all? How did he look? He felt like an idiot, standing there under her gaze. He wanted to fidget with his clothes and touch his hair to make sure it was smoothed back. When was the last time he had shaved? Did he bathe this morning?

Ranma's heart crashed through his ribs into his stomach as she passed by him like she had the others. Her gaze turned to Kimiko next to him. Kimiko silently pointed up the stairs. Akane's head snapped in that direction. The impassive look was gone from her eyes. She scowled and stomped toward the stairs, skipping them and jumping straight to the top.

Ranma jumped at the rage and anger he saw in her eyes before she disappeared. What was wrong? Why was she so mad? There was a crashing sound as Akane tore open the door to one of the rooms and entered it. They heard thumps and crashes as Akane threw things around up there. What was she looking for?

Ranma closed his eyes and breathed deeply. _Come on, Ranma,_ He said to himself. _This is not the time to stare like an idiot._ He opened his eyes slowly and looked around. His eyes were drawn to the stairs again. _Come on, concentrate._

He looked at the faces of the others. Soun, Genma, and Kasumi were all frozen in place, staring at the stairs. Their faces were stuck in a look of shock. The only two who didn't seem to be in shock was Nabiki and Kimiko. They listened, interested and amused, as Akane tore apart the next room.

"Auntie Nabiki!" The voice was quiet, and completely ignored by those in shock, but Ranma, Kimiko, and Nabiki turned as tiny steps came down the hallway. There was a thump like someone falling and a small whimper. Nabiki hurried into the hallway and returned with a small child in her arms. He was a little boy, only about three or four with black hair and dressed in the same ratty clothes. Kimiko skipped over to them and kissed the small boy's "booboo".

Ranma raised an eyebrow. Who were these kids? They were obviously from the orphanage as well, but why were they here? And hadn't Kimiko called Yunshin 'big brother'?

Yunshin…

Ranma's head snapped toward the racket up stairs again, putting two and two together—Akane was looking for something, and Yunshin was the only one upstairs…

As if reading his thoughts, Yunshin appeared at the top of the stairs. He looked behind him, frightened at the crashing and booms coming from the back rooms. He slowly tiptoed down the stairs. He was halfway down, when the step beneath him gave an ever so soft _creak._

Yunshin gasped as the crashing behind him immediately stopped. He threw caution to the wind and sped down the stairs two at a time, disappearing behind Kasumi's skirt into the kitchen.

Akane burst from the top of the stairs, landing at the bottom gracefully. She didn't eve pause as she saw Kasumi looking behind her into the kitchen. She gently moved her sister aside, much to Kasumi's shock, and entered the kitchen.

Ranma strode across the room and watched as Akane thrust open cupboards. She didn't bother closing them before she moved open to the next ones. She pulled out pots and pans and completely ignored the food that was still cooking on the stove. Just as she was dragging a chair over from the table to reach the higher cupboards, the pantry slid open and a blur ran from it. Akane turned just in time to see the sliding back door quiver. She stepped down from the chair and walked past Kasumi and Ranma again. Ranma let her pass, not wanting to get in her way.

Akane searched the backyard, quickly, but finding nothing, she ended up standing in the middle of the grass. The shocked and un-shocked family members had wandered onto the back porch, watching her scan the yard.

A growl ripped from her throat. She stamped her foot and threw back her head to holler, "YUNSHIN! YUNSHIN HIKAWA TENDO! I want you in front of me in three seconds or I will ground you for LIFE!" There was no sound. "1…"Akane started, warningly. "2…" There was a rustling in the tree across from her and a blushing and nervous Yunshin hopped down from the tree.

Yunshin didn't dare look up to meet Akane's eyes as she stalked toward him. Akane's nostrils flared and Ranma felt empathy for anyone who was on the receiving end of that. Akane's arms raised and Yunshin flinched, afraid of a blow. But nothing came. Akane crouched down and crushed Yunshin to her.

"Don't you EVER," Akane said forcefully but quietly into his ear. "Ever worry me like that again."

Yunshin buried his face in her short hair. "I won't." His voice cracked and he sniffed.

Ranma blinked, surprised by the unexpected action. He didn't know whether he should go over and join them or just smile and let them be.

Kimiko pushed her way to the front of the adults and hopped off the porch. She took the small boy from Nabiki's arms and they both ran over to Akane. Akane opened her arms and added them to her hug. The little boy clutched Yunshin's leg with tears in his eyes.

"I won't," Yunshin repeated. "Mom."

A/N: Bwahahahahahahahaha! I am a genius. I know, you don't have to tell me. But you know what else? I'm and EVIL genius! As is evident by that really bad cliffhanger! Haha! +All angry fans start to advance.+ Back, Back! +Swallows a potion and turns into a monster called "Jaquel". Climbs out a window.+ You shall never catch me! Mwahaha!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Don't hurt me, my evil Jaquel-twin! I hate face cream! (Heh, you know who you are...) Anyway, this chapters gonna be a doozy—for you guys, the characters, and me who has to write it all. P Anyway, hopefully this doesn't totally flop. Good luck to myself!

Adopted

Chapter 4

Akane sat quietly, periodically brining her chopsticks to her mouth. The little boy, whose name was Hikaru, sat in her lap, messily eating with a chopstick in either hand. Yunshin was sitting on Akane's left, eating his food with his usual tenacity. Kimiko sat on Akane's other side, eyeing Yunshin's eating with a disgusted look.

They had come in from the backyard when Nabiki asked if dinner was ready. They dragged more cushions toward the table for Yunshin and Kimiko. Akane wasn't fidgety or nervous; she sat as if nothing had happened, as if she had never been gone. She didn't even seem to notice the awkward silence or the questioning stares of the other people at the table.

Ranma felt the frustration welling up in his chest. How could she just sit there as if nothing was wrong? How dare she just waltz back into their lives and assume that everything would be hunky-dory? He wanted to shake her by the shoulders and demand she tell him everything. And yet, at the same time, he wanted to hold her against him and scold her for being so careless and making them worry. It just made him more frustrated to be indecisive.

He looked at Kasumi and Soun. They were moving slowly, as if through mud or a dream. Nabiki was herself, eating normally and simply ignoring her ringing cell phone. Genma was looking around awkwardly, as if he wasn't sure whether or not he ought to be there.

"More please!" Yunshin said to Kasumi when his bowl was scraped clean.

"Ugh, that's your third bowl!" Kimiko cried scathingly.

Yunshin leaned around Akane to stick his tongue out at Kimiko. Kimiko took a piece of vegetable from her bowl and tossed it at Yunshin's head. Akane's chopsticks cut through the air and caught it just before it hit him in the forehead.

Akane eyed Kimiko warningly, and then looked at Yunshin. Kimiko sat back and started to eat again. Yunshin's shoulders hiked up higher as Akane narrowed her eyes at him. She reached out with a sigh and took his bowl.

"Kasumi?" She asked, her eyebrows lifting and her head tilting to the side. Kasumi looked startled at being addressed so suddenly. She looked at Akane's sincere face, blinking rapidly. "Could you?" Akane held the bowl towards Kasumi.

"O-of course," Kasumi took the bowl and refilled it with what was left in the rice cooker.

"What is this?" Kimiko asked, holding up a stir-fry vegetable.

"You've never had that before?" Nabiki asked curiously. Kimiko shook her head. Nabiki looked at her sympathetically. "Oh, right." Nabiki said, remembering the small mountainside orphanage they had grown up in.

"It's zucchini, Kimiko." Akane said. "It's a vegetable. It's good for you, put some salt on it."

Kimiko sighed and looked around as Akane turned back to Hikaru who was trying to climb across the table. Kimiko spotted the salt on the other side of Soun, who was sitting next to her.

"Could you pass the salt, Grandpa?" Kimiko asked, looking up at Soun with her big brown eyes.

Soun stared at her. His eyes suddenly rolled toward the back of his head and he flopped over backwards. Kimiko blinked as he hit the floor.

"Wow, you weren't kidding about him," She said, looking back at Yunshin.

"Told you," Yunshin said smugly.

Akane watched her father for a minute as Kimiko leaned over him to get the salt.

"You didn't tell them?" Akane looked at Nabiki, surprised.

Nabiki shrugged. "I thought I'd leave the pleasure to you."

Akane sighed exasperatedly. "Fine." She looked around the table. Soun (who had been revived by Genma's magical panda-remedy) sat up.

"Tell us what, dear?" Sound asked. He sounded uncharacteristically calm for himself, and Ranma eyed him suspiciously. In fact, everyone here seemed to be acting strangely calm. Why was that?

"Well," Akane took a deep breath as she started. "This is Kimiko, and Hikaru. You already know Yunshin." She put her arms around Kimiko and Yunshin, Hikaru squirming where he was at. She spoke slowly. "And I adopted them."

No one said anything. Ranma just blinked. Nabiki looked around amused. It seemed no one was going to ask anything, so she took it upon herself to keep the conversation rolling.

"So, Akane, maybe you should start at the beginning. Where did you go?" Nabiki smirked as Akane eyed her.

"She went to Nishao!" Yunshin piped in. "I already told you that."

Akane smiled at Yunshin. "Yes, I went there. I was looking for an old teacher of mom's. His name was Nishao; he was a great martial artist, and he's what the village was named after. He was also the owner of the orphanage.

"I went there looking for some martial arts scrolls I had learned about. He said he had them, but in return he wanted me to stay and help around the orphanage for a while. I stayed and helped as much as I could; I put in a new roof, wired the building for electricity, and cleaned out the water well nearby."

"Books!" Hikaru cut in, raising his arms in the air. He giggled happily.

"Yeah, she bought a lot of new books. We hadn't really had them before." Yunshin added.

Akane nodded, smiling at the simple suggestion from the children. But she was suddenly grim. "But Nishao's health was failing. I had been there about four months when he became really ill. He died within a week." Kimiko and Yunshin were quiet for a minute. Hikaru, not fully understanding what was going on, crawled off Akane's lap and played with Kimiko's long hair.

"Nishao had written me into his will. I owned the orphanage." Akane's eyes were serious and sad as she looked at their faces. They had all been listening quietly, hanging on her every word.

"But, of course, I couldn't run an orphanage. I spent quite a bit of money on advertising and trips into town regularly. Eventually, we started having people come to look at the orphanage. Some were looking at buying the land, some were looking at adoption. In only a few months almost all the children had been placed in loving families.

"The land was being bought buy a private investor and the orphanage was being remodeled into a hotel. Buy the end of it all, Yunshin, Kimiko, and Hikaru were the only ones left." Akane smiled down at the children next to her.

Ranma digested the information slowly. Akane had adopted three kids. Akane was a mother. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about it yet.

"How lovely." Kasumi finally commented, smiling kindly.

Soun was suddenly grinning. He reached down and pulled Kimiko into his lap. "My beautiful granddaughter!" He cooed. Kimiko looked toward Akane frantically. Akane gave her a just-go-along-with-it look. Kimiko sighed and patted Soun's shoulder.

"Well, then, son, we've always liked you! It's good to have you as part of the family!" Genma thumped Yunshin on the back. Yunshin smiled up at him cautiously.

Again, they weren't normal reactions for these people. What was with that?

"They'll do good here," Nabiki poked Hikaru's nose playfully before standing up. "As much as these children _love_ you guys," Nabiki shot a pointed glance at Soun who was rubbing his cheek against Kimiko's hair. "I'm sure they'd like to get to bed. They've had a long journey."

"Oh, my yes," Kasumi stood quickly. "I'll draw a bath so you can wash up before bed."

"I don' wanna bath!" Hikaru cried as Yunshin dragged him after Kasumi. Akane smiled after them before turning to her dad.

"Um, dad?" She slowly pried his arms away. Kimiko hurtled out of Soun's lap and into Akane's arms. "We'll see you tomorrow, ok, dad?" She stood and turned toward the bathroom, Kimiko right behind her.

Genma burst out laughing. "Haha! Well, Soun, you're a lucky man!"

Soun laughed too and put an arm around Genma. "That I am, Saotome!"

"How about a bottle of sake to celebrate, eh?"

"Sounds wonderful!"

They stood from the table and ventured out to the porch, still laughing.

Ranma stared after them. How could they be taking this so lightly?

"Don't worry about it," Nabiki said, looking down at Ranma. "They're still in shock. Kasumi too." She patted Ranma on the head. "You should get some sleep. They'll all be back to normal in the morning." She chuckled to herself as she walked upstairs to her own room.

* * *

Ranma sat in Akane's desk chair, sighing in the dark. He glanced over at the bed where Akane and three other small figures slept away. They had set up blankets and pillows for the children on the floor, but one by one they had all crawled into bed with Akane. Akane had just groaned and rolled over to make room.

Ranma sat and watched them, still not really sure what to think. Akane had adopted three children? He tried not to smile at the thought. _Sounds just like her_, he thought. She was always bringing in stray animals and stuff. She loved being there to comfort the wounded and scared creatures. He wasn't surprised she had liked living in an orphanage.

But cats and dogs were one thing—children were completely different. He wondered how official it was, if they were legally hers. She was so _young_. Had she really thought this through?

But he knew Akane. She was smart. She would have thought it through before she even knew that she had had the idea. But he couldn't help but worry about her. She hadn't even graduated high school yet, was she ready to be a mother?

He sighed again. He stood from the chair and sat at the edge of the bed. This wasn't new for him. He didn't sleep much anymore, not in the middle of the night, anyway. He spent most of the time on the roof or in Akane's room. He had been coming in even before Akane had left, though after she had the room had a much less welcoming feeling. Since Yunshin had been there, it had almost recovered its cozy-ness.

Ranma watched as Yunshin rolled over, kicking Kimiko in his sleep. Yunshin was special indeed. The family had opened up to him almost immediately. And he'd been here less than a week. Even Nabiki had, and she hardly opened up to anyone. Ranma himself had even said that Yunshin would be staying, whether or not Akane came back. It was a given. Yunshin was so friendly and innocent they had unconsciously included him. Akane had made a good choice with him.

The others, on the other hand, he had no idea about. Akane had a way of instantly liking anyone. He supposed she had inherited that from Kasumi. Even if she hid it better than Kasumi, it was there. It didn't matter who they were or what they did she had a soft spot. He smiled. Even him, when they'd first met. Akane may have disliked him, but if she had truly hated him, she would have kicked him out on the streets before thinking twice. He suspected a lot of it was that she had felt sorry for him. He didn't know if these were good kids or not, though. It wouldn't matter to Akane; she would have taken them home anyway. He wondered how well they would fit with the family.

Ranma exhaled and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, running his hands through his hair. 'The family', he said, as if he was a part of it.

He glanced back toward Akane on the bed.

No, he was a part of it. After all they'd been through, it didn't matter if he married into the family or not. It was like they had just adopted him.

He grinned at the irony.

Ranma stiffened as Akane groaned and turned in her sleep. He turned just as she sat straight up. He blinked as he found himself nose to nose with her.

"Uh," Ranma swallowed, wondering what she would do. "H-hey."

She blinked sleepily for a second before she pushed his face back and fumbled at the blankets. She grunted when she couldn't pull them back because he was sitting on them. "Mmf, scoot over, Ranma..." She mumbled.

He hopped off the bed, stepping back as she got out. She swayed for a moment, waiting for things to come into focus. She turned and pulled the blanket back over the kids.

"It's'too...hot," She explained sleepily, half to Ranma half to herself as she plopped down on the floor. She pulled an abandoned blanket toward her and settled down on a pillow.

Ranma watched her for a minute. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened. She hadn't punched him, or kicked him, or thrown her desk at him. That was a new development.

He relaxed as he watched her snuggle down. He turned and slid open the window, glancing toward the bed again before he started to crawl out of it. He stiffened when a hand caught his pant leg.

"Hey."

Ranma looked back. Akane had turned towards him and was watching him through the dark.

"Thanks," She said quietly. She reached toward the bed where Yunshin's arm was hanging over the side. She took his smaller hand in hers. "For keeping an eye on him."

Ranma smiled. "Sure thing." She smiled back and turned over. Ranma smiled again as he crept out the window and slid it shut behind him. Akane waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps on the roof until she closed her eyes with a little chuckle.

* * *

"This should be fun," Nabiki muttered to Ranma as he came down the stairs the next morning. He had just woken up, rather late actually. School had started an hour ago but nobody had woken him up. In fact, as he came down stairs, Nabiki was the only one awake.

"What should be fun?" Ranma asked confused. Nabiki had been watching TV, but as he came down she switched it off and turned to face the room.

Nabiki just nodded toward the stairs as a response.

A few seconds after Ranma sat down next to Nabiki they heard moving around upstairs. Kasumi appeared at the top, still in the middle of pulling back her hair as she descended. She yawned sleepily, as she paused in front of them.

"Good morning!" She said when she saw them. "I'm going to start breakfast if you'd just wait a few minutes." She paused right before she entered the kitchen. "You know, I had the oddest dream last night."

"Oh?" Nabiki asked, trying not to smile. Nabiki elbowed Ranma and gave him a this-is-going-to-be-good look.

"Yes," Kasumi stared into space as she remembered it. "In my dream, Akane had come back." She looked pained for a minute at the mention of her sister's name. "She had brought three children with her. She adopted them." Kasumi suddenly smiled at the assumed joke. "Can you imagine?" She turned back into the kitchen, giggling.

Ranma stared after her. "How come she doesn't remember?"

"Being in shock does strange things to you." Nabiki shrugged. "Some people get delusional, some people suddenly get sick, some people go into a trauma-coma…etc. Most likely Kasumi's side effects just made it hard for her to comprehend everything, as if the whole scene was to fantastical to be real. She probably just subconsciously labeled it as a dream. Daddy's probably the same way too. Though _he_ might act a little more extreme."

From the angle they were sitting at, they could clearly see Kasumi humming to herself as she prepared ingredients. At the same time, they had a straight view of the rest of the house.

All of a sudden things seemed to be happening. Akane's bedroom door opened and Yunshin stepped out, wearing his Gi and rubbing his eyes. He hopped down the stairs, pausing on every step to "hiya!" while punching at air.

Kimiko left Akane's room at the same time Soun left his room on the ground floor. Soun smiled at Yunshin coming down the stairs as he made his way to the bathroom. He slid the door shut just before Kimiko appeared at the top of the stairs. She followed Yunshin down the steps, scowling.

"How can you have so much energy in the morning?" Kimiko asked as she watched him almost fall down backwards from a roundhouse kick.

Hikaru trotted out of the room, only to stop at the top of the stairs and whine at Kimiko for leaving him as he started to crawl backward down them. Genma—panda form—_tarumped!_ from the backyard only to stop in the middle of the living room to avoid Yunshin as he "hiyad!" his way through it.

Ranma watched Nabiki out of the corner of his eye. She was sitting on the edge of her seat, anticipating something.

"Here she comes!" She whispered to Ranma.

Barely after the words left her mouth he heard the front door open and close again. Akane had just come back from her morning jog. Just as Ranma was wondering why she still went on those every morning and just as Akane was slipping off her shoes in the hallway, Kasumi spotted Kimiko in the doorway to the kitchen.

Kasumi let out a surprised little squeak and dropped the large saucepan she had been holding. The saucepan bounced on the floor and flew out the kitchen door into the living room, hitting Yunshin squarely on the head. Yunshin fell over just as Kimiko, who had stepped back to avoid being hit, tripped over him. She found herself on her back, staring up as a giant panda looked back at her with wide eyes. She screamed.

The scream startled Hikaru, who turned and slipped from the step he was on. Soun exited the bathroom just in time to catch him as he fell down the stairs. Soun stared at the toddler in his hands as Hikaru started to tear up at the same time as Kimiko was standing back up. She did a roundhouse kick towards Genma, and knocked the stunned panda over into Soun. Soun dropped Hikaru on the floor as he fell under the weight of the panda. Hikaru, momentarily dazed at suddenly being dropped, began to wail loudly.

Yunshin, forced into movement by his younger brother's distress, stood abruptly, the saucepan flying off the top of his head. As Yunshin ran toward Hikaru, Kimiko blocked the saucepan that was flying towards her for a second time. It bounced off her fist and landed in the doorway of the kitchen, just as an anxious Kasumi was coming out. Kasumi tripped on the saucepan and stumbled right into Akane as she entered the living room.

"Akane?" Kasumi asked, her serene mask suddenly astonished. She put her hands on Akane's shoulders, as if not believing she was really there. There were tears in Kasumi's eyes as she put a hand to her mouth.

Akane looked at her, just as astonished. "Yes, Kasumi?"

Akane, along with Ranma and Nabiki, jumped as Kasumi suddenly shrieked. Then, all of a sudden, Akane was screaming too. They were grinning widely and hugging each other tightly. They suddenly let go and started to circle each other.

"Oh my gosh, how have you been?"

"Me? What about you?"

"Wow, you look so beautiful!"

"I'm not the only one, look at how you've grown!"

"Oh, I missed you so much!"

"Heehee! You should have seen us when you first left!"

Ranma gawked as the two girls cried out to each other excitedly. Then suddenly there was more noise. Ranma turned to see Genma trumping over to the girls with tears in his eyes. He took them both in his furry arms and picked them up off the floor. They squealed.

Soun sat up and looked on in uncertainty. Then he suddenly smiled as tears ran down his face. He put his face in his hands and sobbed.

"Oh, Kami, thank you for returning my precious daughter to me!" Soun cried loudly.

Yunshin and Kimiko watched Soun with incredulous eyes as he talked to the ceiling. Hikaru sat with a finger in his mouth, his fear and pain forgotten, his tears still in the midst of falling down his cheeks as he watched his mother laugh and scream.

"And, cut," Nabiki smirked as she reached toward the camcorder next to her and switched it off. She turned to Ranma with a smile. "Well, that was fun, don't you think?"

"PFFT!"

The screaming quieted and they all turned to look at Ranma as he hunched over, covering his mouth. He couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, clutching his gut to keep it from popping open. Tears came to his eyes and he fell over, off the back of the couch, to lie on his back on the cushions.

"What…Haha!…the heck…pfft…was that?" He said in between breaths.

The rest of the gathered people smiled at each other before slowly regaining their composure.

"Set the table, would you?" Kasumi said to Genma before she hurriedly slipped back into the kitchen to finish breakfast. Genma saluted her with a sign that read "-Sir, yes, sir!-" He then took the bowls Kasumi handed him from the kitchen and began to circle the table.

Soun stood and crushed his youngest daughter in a hug before pulling away to kiss her on the forehead. He then pulled away and giddily skipped toward the table.

Akane grinned after him as she walked towards the miniature group gathered at the stairs. Hikaru watched Akane with wide eyes as she picked him up and brushed away his tears.

"Grown ups are freaks," Kimiko grumbled to no one in particular.

"Haha! No kidding!" Yunshin laughed as he stood and walked toward the table, Kimiko trudging after him. Akane looked back at Ranma who blinked innocently. She smiled and jerked her head for him to follow.

Breakfast was the complete opposite from dinner the previous night. There were smiles and laughter and talking…They all seemed to be talking at once, whether to Akane, or someone else, or their teacups, it didn't matter.

"So, Akane, what are you doing later?" Kasumi asked brightly. "I'm sure there are a lot of people who would like to see you."

"No, I don't have time." Akane shook her head.

"Why not?" Genma (newly human and still damp) asked through a mouthful of food.

"I'm taking the kids into town. I've got some shopping to do." Akane replied.

"Aw, man! I hate shopping!" Yunshin cried distraught.

Kimiko punched him in the arm. "You've never been shopping."

"So? Shopping is what _girls_ do." Yunshin stuck his tongue out at her as he rubbed his arm. There was a ridiculous amount of laughter. Everyone seemed to be laughing at everything, no matter how silly.

"What are you shopping for Akane?" Nabiki asked, picking at her food.

"Clothes, mostly." Akane replied. "The kids hardly have anything that fits them properly. I'd also like to look into some other things, like schools and such—"

"Oh! Yeah, mom, I looked into some stuff while I was here!" Yunshin pulled his ever-present notebook from out of nowhere. He handed it excitedly to Akane.

"Really? How thoughtful, Yunshin." Akane smiled at him and he beamed.

"Let me see!" Kimiko took the notebook and flipped through it. "What is all this crap?"

"It's not crap, it's notes!" Yunshin snatched it back from her.

"Why would you take notes on the 'Principle's office'? No one cares about that." Kimiko crossed her arms.

"Oh, yeah? Have you seen the Furinkan High offices? They're huge!" Yunshin spread his arms so wide he almost toppled over.

"It's true," Ranma added through a mouth full of food.

"Yeah, see?" Yunshin stuck his tongue out again. She returned the favor with vigor.

"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed. "I suppose I'll pull Akane's old clothes out of the attic. The children must have something to wear when they go to town!"

"Yeah, we want our new family to look good," Nabiki replied with a sardonic smile.

"We have to talk, too, Nabiki," Akane said as she pulled Hikaru's hand away from her sleeve.

"Why's that?"

"About finances and such."

It was quiet for a second.

"What for, dear?" Soun asked, puzzled.

"Adding three more members to one house can cause quite a strain. We'll need to talk about some things." Akane said and Nabiki nodded. Akane again pulled Hikaru's persistent hand away.

"All right, while you're gone today I'll pull out some forms and bank books."

"Sounds good to me."

"Mommy—" Hikaru tried again.

"Not now, Hikaru," Akane said to him before turning back. Hikaru tugged on her sleeve again with a frown.

"So what are you going to do about school and things?" Genma asked curiously.

"Well, I am planning on taking the end of year exam." Akane shrugged.

"But you've been gone a year. You're going to be way behind." Soun reprimanded as if to an imaginative child.

Akane smiled triumphantly. "Actually, I'm ahead of my class. When I left, I contacted the principle from Nishao. I asked him to send me the work, and I would commit from there. Principle Kuno agreed because if he lost me, one of his best students, the GPA of the school would plummet. I actually finished school a few months ago. All I have left is taking the test."

"You _what_?" Ranma cried incredulously.

Genma chuckled. "Maybe you could help Ranma a bit then! He's probably what would have made the GPA plummet. Haha!"

"Can it, pops," Ranma shoved a slice of toast in his father's mouth.

"How?" Nabiki said. She looked aggravated. "How come I didn't know?"

Akane looked surprised. "You didn't?" Nabiki just scowled. "I was surprised that no one came after me, actually. I thought you did know, and you were just letting me have my space." Akane again pulled Hikaru's hand away as he shook her arm, frustrated.

"Well, I didn't," Nabiki's jaw clenched. How had something as simple as this slipped past her? She should have checked with the school very first!

"I did drop out of school under my own name, though," Akane said, trying to back peddle as she watched Nabiki. "I just reenrolled under a false name."

Nabiki just snorted and let it go for now...but she _was_ going to fire someone for this…

Hikaru, who suddenly couldn't take being ignored anymore, crawled on the table, stood up, and cried out, "I wanna go s'opping for a bana spit ice ceam!"

There was no hesitation as everyone burst out laughing again. Akane pulled him off the table and into her lap.

"All, right, we're going already."

* * *

"This dress feels weird," Kimiko complained, pulling at the white hem.

"Oh?" Kasumi's brow puckered. "It should fit you, Akane used to wear it when she was your age."

"Akane wore this?" Kimiko asked. Kasumi nodded and Kimiko looked down at the dress in wonder, all her discomfort forgotten.

Kasumi turned back to Yunshin. He was still struggling with his belt as he tried to stuff it through his pant loops. Kasumi smiled softly. She had pulled out the boxes of Akane's old clothes and was now watching as the kids tried them on. She was glad she had kept them; they seemed to come in handy more often than not.

"Who invented these things?" Yunshin grumbled as he struggled with the belt. Kasumi had found a red shirt that would fit Yunshin, but the pants had been harder to dig out. The largest pair of jeans in the box was _barely_ big enough to fit Yunshin. But Yunshin hadn't minded, he had stared at them in awe as he slipped them on. It upset Kasumi to think that these old hand-me-downs were probably the nicest clothes these children had ever worn.

Kasumi finally saved Yunshin from his misery as she knelt to help him with the belt.

"Oh for heaven's sake," Akane scowled at herself in the mirror. She was a wearing a dress of hers, one that she used to wear frequently, but now it just looked childish on her. Akane spun on her heal, stepped over the piles of clothes on the floor, and stalked out of her room.

Ranma, who was standing in the doorway, raised an eyebrow as she passed him. She walked down the hall and pounded on Nabiki's door.

"Nabiki! I need your help!" She looked down at what she was wearing. "I _really_ need your help!"

Ranma walked into Akane's room as she walked into Nabiki's.

"Ranma!" Yunshin exclaimed when he saw him. "Look at this!" He gestured toward his shirt as Kasumi tucked it into his pants, the brown belt latched securely around his waist.

"Well, aren't you the handsome little devil?" Ranma grinned down at him and he beamed back up. Ranma spotted Hikaru sitting on the bed. Kasumi had put a striped shirt and overalls on him. The overalls were too big, so they had to be rolled up a ridiculous amount of times. Ranma picked Hikaru up and sat on the bed. "Well, lookie here."

"Look!" Hikaru excitedly held out the front of his overalls so Ranma could better see the printed tiger on the front. Ranma ignored the fact that it was a cat and smiled.

"You have a kitty on your clothes?"

"Yeah!" Hikaru smiled.

Ranma looked up as Akane walked back into the room. She was wearing a pair of jeans, now, and blue button up shirt. It was simple, but somehow it looked much more sophisticated on Akane. Ranma averted his eyes as hers flicked toward him.

"It seems I'll have to buy myself some new clothes as well," Akane smiled abashedly. She stopped as Ranma put Hikaru on the floor next to Kimiko. Akane put her hands on her hips. "Well who are these good looking kids?"

Yunshin grinned and Kimiko fussed with her skirt. Hikaru looked upset.

"Mommy, you know us! You our mommy!" Hikaru said, pulling on her pant leg.

Akane faked surprise. "No! You can't be my kids! You're much to good for me!"

"Mommy!" Hikaru looked up at her sadly. Kasumi giggled as Akane picked him up and spun him around.

"Oh!" Kasumi exclaimed as Kimiko stood in front of the mirror. "Kimiko let me fix your hair!" She reached forward and touched the ends of Kimiko's long, knotted hair. Kimiko gasped and flinched away, turning to glare at Kasumi. Kasumi paused, looking startled.

Akane quickly jumped in. "Kimiko, it's all right. She's just going to help you."

Kasumi smiled and picked up a brush. "Yes, I promise I'll be gentle."

Kimiko turned back around and stood quietly, bowing her head to hide the embarrassed blush as Kasumi brushed her hair.

Ranma watched Kimiko and Kasumi as Akane eased Hikaru to the ground. Akane looked thoughtful as she watched her sister and daughter. Ranma just watched, completely oblivious to all deeper meanings of female mood.

"Hey, Ranma, are you coming with us?" Yunshin put his hands on Ranma's knees and bounced up and down excitedly.

"Huh?" Ranma blinked. "Uh, well…"

"Yes, Ranma you should." Kasumi said over her shoulder. "I need some groceries picked up and I don't want to bother Akane with them. It would be very nice if you could go along."

Ranma looked at Yunshin and then at Kasumi. He looked up at Akane.

She smiled and shrugged. "I don't mind."

"All right," Ranma said. "But only if we go get some banana splits." Akane and Kasumi chuckled at the reference.

"Yay!" Yunshin threw his arms in the air and ran out the door.

"Yay!" Hikaru threw his arms up and ran after his brother.

Ranma grinned. _Kids are cute,_ he decided.

"There, you see?" Kasumi said as she turned Kimiko around to face the mirror. Kimiko's eyes widened as she turned to and fro in the mirror. Kasumi had pulled Kimiko's hair back from her face in two high ponytails with white ribbons. Even so, her hair still fell down to her elbows. Kasumi smiled. "Did you know you have natural curl? Very classy."

Akane's eyes softened as Kimiko turned to her expectantly. "Very pretty, Kimiko."

Kimiko beamed and walked toward the door. Akane caught her shoulder. Kimiko looked up at her and Akane just glanced toward Kasumi.

"Oh, um…thank you!" Kimiko blushed and bowed quickly before dashing out the door. Kasumi giggled.

"They're not used to having so many grown ups around," Akane explained. "They'll warm up to it."

Kasumi just nodded understandingly.

A few minutes later Ranma and Akane were standing on the front step, slipping on their shoes.

It felt weird to be standing next to her so casually again. Ranma was tense, careful not to touch her or get to close. He felt like an idiot. This is how he always had used to feel, when they were younger. He thought that he'd grown out of it. He didn't know why, but she made him nervous. She always had.

"I don't know what time we'll be back." Akane said as she opened the door. The kids zoomed ahead, flinging the Dojo gates open and darting through. Ranma paused next to Akane as they reached the gates.

"Is it just me, or do you have the chills?" Akane asked looking out at the world.

"Naw, I got 'em too." Ranma replied. The streets of Nerima were not a place that one just walked out into. You had to prepare yourself; you never know what could happen.

"Think something will happen?" She asked him, already knowing the answer.

"Most definitely."

"Great. Let's go."

"Right behind you."

A/N: Am I annoying, or what? I spend all this time building up to the 'town scene' and then I just drop it. +Snicker+ What can I say? It's fun to torture people.

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	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Wow, it's been a while, eh? Weird. Can't be helped, though, I've been...distracted. By dragons and the like. And can I tell you how freakin' annoying it is when evil boar-riding-hogs come and kidnap your childhood lover? And then you have to travel the country by boat or horse, save magical spirits, and defeat evil pigs just to get them back. Annoying. But, through it all, you know that your pirate girlfriend/childhood lover will be there through it all. Sigh. Well, I've hung my sword and it's time for me to retire...until Hyrule calls for me again.

Adopted

Chapter 5

Akane didn't always handle stress well. Sometimes she could use it to her advantage and convert it into energy to help her work or train twice as hard. Sometimes it made her want to smash her head into a wall and then dig a hole to die in. This was one of those times.

It didn't help that she knew a very annoying man who's sole purpose in life was, when her nerves were wrung as dry as they could be, to push her over the edge. Well, more like blindfold her, tie her to a boulder, and then laugh heartily as he positively chucked her into a rolling sea. Or at least that's how she sometimes pictured it. And so, as a precaution, she was being very, very careful not to let the stress show.

"Mom, should you be doing that?"

"Ah!" Akane quickly let go of the light pole and let it crumple in pieces to the ground. She bowed quickly to the crowd on the street. "Eh heh, sorry about that, don't mind us!" She took Kimiko's hand, half a dozen shopping bags in the other, and continued down the sidewalk, clearing her throat. They made their way through the downtown streets, shop owners calling out to them and people crowding around for morning sales. Ahead of them Ranma's jet black hair and red shirt stood out above the masses, a small boy on his shoulders, yanking on his pigtail and pointing at shop windows. Once in a while Ranma would turn and glance at Akane, just to make sure they were keeping up. Each time, Akane suddenly found the nearest vendor selling the most interesting thing she'd ever seen. Kimiko looked up at her mother with a small frown.

"Are you ok, Mom?" She asked.

"What me?" Akane responded, embarrassed. "Yes, perfectly ok, absolutely nothing wrong. No worries. Perfectly normal."

Kimiko's frown deepened. She looked toward the strange man with her brothers. Ramen, or whatever his name was. She skipped ahead when she saw the three oohing and aahing, hovering over a takoyaki cart. Akane followed. The owner was just handing out free samples to them when she walked up, and of course they were making a big ruckus about it. Yunshin sang a little song about how awesome the owner was as Hikaru tried to follow along while Ranma cried out and waved rapidly at his burnt tongue. Kimiko calmly blew on hers before cautiously nibbling on it.

"Here," Ranma handed Akane a toothpick topped by takoyaki as she came up, distractedly trying to see the tip of his tongue on the basis that it really was burnt black.

"Ah, thanks," She took it carefully, bowing to the cart owner as they walked on again, Akane now in the lead.

It was hard to pinpoint exactly _why_ she was stressed, but of all the people in Nerima the one person she had been the most nervous to see was the one person she was now stuck with. She had tried to talk herself out of it during the trip home from Nishao, but since they'd left the dojo that morning the stress had been bubbling up more and more. Yesterday she had been able to keep it down, hiding away behind her family, old and new. Now, however, there was a large pair of blue eyes that she was painfully, _painfully _aware of.

"Hey, 'Kane."

She briefly closed her eyes to steady herself before turning around. "ACK!" She punched him.

"Ow! What!"

"Don't stand so close! You scared the crap out of me!"

"What! You knew I was there." He rubbed his head angrily. "I was just gonna say there's an ice cream stand over there, no need to freak out."

"I wasn't freaking out, you startled me." She said defensively, hiding her red face by looking away.

He mistook it. "Sor-_ry_, miss snooty-pants, I'll stand back." He snapped.

"Just don't sneak up on me, ok?"

"Ok!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"I'm getting ice cream!" Akane stalked across the street. "You guys coming or what?"

"Let's go," Ranma looked down. The children stared up at him. "What?" He asked, confused.

Kimiko broke away first with an uppity shake of the head and followed her mother, taking the hand of Hikaru and leading him along. Yunshin didn't move.

"What are you lookin' at, kid? Move along." Ranma shoved him ahead of him, bringing up the rear with a miffed grimace.

It was about now that Akane felt like digging that hole to die in. _I'm such an idiot_, She though.

* * *

Nabiki blinked at her guest. Shampoo just smiled patiently. After another minute she ventured to ask again, "Shampoo come see Ranma, yes? Bring special recipe for whole house. Make airen happy, yes? Is home?"

"Hold that thought." Nabiki turned back into the house and made her way to the living room, thinking. She knew exactly where Ranma was—with Akane. She wasn't sure, however, if she wanted to announce that to an insane Chinese woman. She thought the kids could use some time to get used to each other. And by kids she didn't mean the kids at all, she meant Ranma and Akane.

But, on the other hand, Nerima would find out eventually. It didn't matter how or when they found out, the outcome would most likely be the same. The question was whether or not Nabiki wanted to deal with that today. She sighed.

"...no, no, _Soun_ Tendo," Soun said over the phone on the other side of the room, twisting the cord happily in his fingers. "Yes, yes, do you remember now? ...Yes, that was me! Good to talk to you, too. ...Yes, the Go board is holding up nicely, you're a fine craftsman...No, I was calling to tell you my daughter has come home! My baby girl! Hmm? ….Yes, yes she's been missing for almost a year! Why, thank you, we're very happy about it...yes..."

"Daddy," Nabiki interrupted icily. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, Nabiki, sweetie, I'm calling up all my old friends to tell them the good news, of course! ...What? Oh, not you, just my daughter. ...No, a different one...I have three...Oh ho ho, yes, all very beautiful! Almost all grown up!" A tear entered his eye.

Nabiki refrained from ripping the phone cord from the wall and turned back down the hallway to the front door just as Soun was launching into a story of his pride as a new grandfather. She should have watched her father more carefully, the idiot. Well, there was no helping it now. Soun's list of "friends" consisted of everyone he'd ever spoken to. All of Japan would know by noon tomorrow.

Nabiki yanked the door back open and Shampoo beamed.

"Ah! Is Ranma?"

_What the heck,_ Nabiki thought. "How much yen you got on you?"

* * *

"Ice ceam is too too yum yum, ice ceam is too too bum bum, ice ceam is too too fun fun!" Hikaru repeated Yunshin's takoyaki song from earlier, with a rendition more appropriate to what they were now eating. Ranma sat next to him on the curb, licking his own ice cream cone and wondering what in the heck Akane's problem was. Kimiko sat on his other side with ice cream in hand, kindly listening to the tone-deaf melody and ignoring the tall man next to her.

Ranma sighed. "So, Kimiko..." Ranma fished around for a minute. "How ya—"

"I don't like you."

"—doin'...Come again?" He must have misheard her. She didn't repeat herself, however, or look at him again for that matter. He was just getting annoyed about being confused when Akane finished paying and walked up behind them. She stopped.

"Where's Yunshin?" She asked.

Ranma froze, mid lick. "I thought he was with you."

"I thought he was with you."

They looked at each other. Akane rolled her eyes and tossed her ice cream to the side. "I swear he's gonna be the death of me..."

They ran back through the crowds, shopping bags swinging, Hikaru on Akane's hip, and Kimiko keeping up alongside. Ranma jumped to an awning for a better view while Akane stayed on the ground to peek in windows. Akane was just beginning to panic when she heard his voice from down an alley. Ranma jumped down and they slowed as they recognized who he was talking to.

"—honestly no idea what you're talking about." Yunshin said with a nonchalant lick of his ice cream.

"For the last time, where is the fair maiden Akane?"

"For the last time, I doth not knoweth of who you speaketh."

"Child, do not presume to make a mockery of the mighty Kuno."

"I don't presume nothin'."

"Anything," Akane corrected.

"Right, anything." Yunshin nodded to his mother. "Like I said, I don't know anything about Akane." Kimiko rolled her eyes.

Kuno ignored him. He turned toward Akane who braced herself. He fell to one knee. "Oh, fairest of females, how I have longed for thee. The day has been as night, the night as lonely as my heart without yours beside it. To be, as we have been, torn from the bosom of the other—"

"What's a bosom?" Kimiko asked.

"—is a sin that even the foulest of demons, under the reign of their great king Saotome, would never dare—"

"Cool, Ranma, you're a king?" Yunshin looked up at him.

Ranma turned humbly to the side. "Huh, only the greatest, most majestic—"

"Oh, please," Akane said, eyes half lidded.

"—to challenge the love, will and strength of the mighty," Kuno paused to pose and lightning struck behind him. "KUNO!"

"He's funny!" Hikaru smiled.

Kuno left his dramatic background to stand over Akane, the little boy in her arms, and a bored Kimiko at her side. "Who, may I ask, are these?"

"Well," Akane began. "These...are my children."

Kuno looked at her for a minute. "Your...children?"

"Yes."

"_Your _children?"

"That's what I said."

"Where is the father?"

"There isn't one."

"Well, then," Kuno wrapped an arm around her. "I will be more than happy to take up the mantle, to raise these children as my own alongside—"

Ranma sent him flying across the alley to land in the dumpster on the other side. "I've had just about enough out of you, Romeo." Ranma turned. "Let's get out of here before he gets up."

Akane threw over her shoulder casually, "Good to see you, Kuno. Let's do it again in another year."

Their progress out of the alley was hindered as Ukyo, rosy cheeked and winded from running, stood in the way, hands on her knees. "Thank-huff-goodness, I-wheeze-found you. Hey-whew-Akane."

"Hey, Ukyo, how are you?" Akane smiled at her as she straightened herself out.

"Pretty good, you?" She blinked. "Is it just me, or are the children multiplying?"

"Well..."

"Never mind, tell me later. Right now, you gotta get out of here, there are tons of people looking for you, so unless you want to get mauled—"

Akane's view of Ukyo was suddenly obscured by a shock of purple hair and matching eyes. Shampoo blinked at the dark haired girl who just stared back with wide eyes. Shampoo poked her. Circled her. Poked her again.

"Hey, Shampoo," Akane said halfheartedly.

Shampoo jumped back. "Aiya! Really is Akane!" She wrapped her arms around Ranma's torso. "Look, Ranma, is violent fiancée."

"Yeah, I know," He grunted as he tried to free himself.

"Akane, why you come back?" She ignored Ukyo as she came over, using her spatula to try and pry Shampoo's arms away from Ranma. "Shampoo thinking you running away very good idea, free Ranma to love Shampoo. We love too too much now."

Akane gave a barely noticeable twitch of the eye before covering it with a smile. "Oh, really? How nice for you."

Ukyo had findally wedged her spatula in between Ranma and Shampoo and was now jumping up and down on it in an attempt to separate them. Ranma was saying "Come on, come on! You're not heavy enough!" and she shouted back "I'm trying!" Kimiko looked at Yunshin. He shrugged. Akane was distracted by Shampoo, who was now starring hard at Hikaru.

"Akane...is you baby?"

"Yeeeaah," Akane said suspiciously.

"Aiya!" She put her hands to her face and Ukyo and Ranma fell to the ground. "He so old! The Japanese grow babies too too weird."

The conversation was stopped by a rustling in the dumpster a few feet away. Kuno pulled himself up, looking confused and pulling rotten banana peels off his head. His gaze landed on Ranma and he leaped forward, landing in front of Akane.

"Evil king, I have received your challenge!" He swung his bokken toward Ranma.

Ranma dusted himself off. "Yeah, well, did you catch the part where I won?"

"Ha! You think a weak man such as yourself—"

Ranma kicked him in the face. "Shut up. Never mind you, I've got a question: how did all of you find out, anyway?"

Shampoo said, "Nabiki Tendo." Akane groaned.

Kuno and Ukyo answered at the same time: "Shampoo."

Basically, here's the story: after Shampoo had emptied her pockets to the middle Tendo daughter, Nabiki had said, "Ranma's out with Akane." And that was it. Shampoo had then run around town, crashing into every building Ranma and Akane might be in and then leaving a large hole in the wall as she went on to the next place. As a result, everyone who had ever been in those buildings with Ranma and Akane now knew Akane was back in town and all were eager to see her, for one reason or another. The masses had quickly followed Shampoo out the hole in the wall and had begun their own search...which would explain the gentle roar in the distance and the generally unsettled disposition of the morning shoppers as they hurried home and away from the new crowd.

"My my," Kuno said as the roar loudened.

"Why there so many people coming this way?" Shampoo asked.

Kimiko raised an eyebrow. Yunshin leaned forward expectantly. Hikaru held tighter to his mother.

Akane looked at Ranma. He nodded.

Ukyo swallowed, watching the mouth of the alley worriedly. "You two had better get outta here before it's too late, or else you'll have to deal with a whole lot of crazy." She turned back to them. "Did you hear me, I—where'd they go?"

Shampoo and Kuno turned as well.

"Aiya, they disappear!"

"Foul king of beasts!"

Two men saw where they went, one sitting on the roof next door, the other standing on the sidewalk across the street. The first wore a white tank top and dark pants. His smile looked more like a leer. "Well, now, was that dear Akane?" He said to no one in particular.

The second man wore a black suit, hat, and sunglasses. His mustache twitched. He turned and walked down the street.

* * *

"I _knew_ this would happen," Ranma ground his teeth together as he ran.

"If you knew it then why didn't you do something about it?" Akane cried back in irritation.

"What the heck was _I_ supposed to do about it?"

"They're your fiancées!"

"They are not _all_ my fiancées!"

"Try telling them that!"

"Hey, Kuno was there to see you, not me!"

"He wouldn't have been there if it hadn't been for _your_ stupid fiancée!"

"Yeah, I know—you!"

They ran from rooftop to rooftop, and Ranma was silently impressed that Akane was keeping up. Yunshin and Kimiko were both tucked up under Ranma's arms and his hands were full of shopping bags. Akane had transferred Hikaru to under her arm as well in order to run more easily, her other hand full of bags. Looking back, no one was visibly following them, but they felt in their bones that if they slowed down, even for a second, someone would catch up.

The hair rose on the back of Ranma's neck and he couldn't help but screech to a halt. Akane stopped beside him.

"Do you feel that?" He asked.

"Yeah...it feels like..."

"Evil."

They swallowed. Ahead of them, in a dark cloud of blacks and purples, was a figure. It was small, but its size meant nothing. On its back was a large sack, stuffed to bursting with women's underwear.

Happosai beamed. "Akane, my sweet! How I've missed you!" He hurled himself at Akane...or at least where Akane had been. Happosai blinked. Ranma whipped his head around, but she was completely gone. He couldn't even sense a sort of presence that told him she was close by. She had simply vanished into thin air.

"Now, now, sweetness, don't be shy!" Happosai called out. "Come to Happy!"

"Who's being shy?" Voice and woman appeared from nowhere and roundhouse kicked Happosai back the way they'd come. "Ack!" Akane gasped when she saw blurs of martial artists heading toward them. Ranma didn't look back but just stared at her.

He frowned. "How did you do that?"

She smiled. "Do what?" She jumped from the roof to the street. He followed. They quickly regretted this decision when they saw the mob of women, who had been following Happosai, running towards them head-on .

"Waah! Run!" Ranma led the way down a side street.

"Where are we going?" Akane asked.

"Home!"

"What! How's that a good place?"

"You got any better ideas?"

A few turns later, a couple dodges of pitch forks and other random debris, and the Tendo dojo was in sight. Just as Ranma and Akane were deciding to drop the kids off to get them out of the way before they led the chase back through town, they noticed a figure standing outside the gates. Nabiki Tendo stood, using a hammer to soundly pound a post into the ground. Just as Ranma and Akane reached her she hung a homemade sign up.

The sign read, "Anyone not related BY BLOOD to the Tendos are hereby FORBIDDEN to enter the Tendo compound without an appointment made by Nabiki Tendo. All who fail to do this will be FINED HEAVILY by Nabiki Tendo or otherwise PUNISHED. The following is a list of those who may believe themselves to be related but who ARE NOT:

-Tatewaki Kuno

-Shampoo

-Happosai

-Mr. Saotome

This sign is approved by Nabiki Tendo; I dare you to step on my property."

"Nabiki," Ranma began with an emotional sniff.

"I love you," Akane finished.

"Sure thing, sis."

The mob of stalkers stopped a few feet back from the sign and each person silently read it. A few of the lesser beings grumbled to themselves and walked away one by one. The regulars (Shampoo, Kuno, etc.) didn't really know what to do. Ranma felt quite giddy about it.

He stuck his tongue out. "Mwahahaha! Suckers!" He jumped back and forth, from the front to the back of the sign. "Now you can get me, now you can't. Now I'm in danger, now I'm totally safe! Bwahaha!"

"He's not very smart, is he?" Kimiko, who had been set down next to her brother moments earlier, said.

"Nope. He's not so bad, though." Yunshin answered while watching the older man dodge projectiles from a blind duck.

Nabiki had already taken Hikaru inside and Akane now gathered the last of the shopping bags. She looked towards the topic of her two eldest children's conversation. A smile slowly spread across her face before laughter began to escape.

"What's so funny, mom?" Yunshin asked.

"I don't know!" She laughed harder. "Ha ha! Goodness, I missed him!" Ranma whipped his head around. Just as a smile began to slide onto his own face he was hit upside the head by a porcelain sink.

"Come on," Akane said through a chuckle, "Drag him inside, will you?"

Kimiko skipped after her mother, offering her brother no assistance with the fallen man. The rest of the crowd continued to stand there in shock, completely astonished at being thwarted by someone who didn't actually know any martial arts.

* * *

"You know...I don't think she likes me very much."

"Who, Kimi? Don't worry, she hates everyone."

"She doesn't hate Kasumi. Or Nabiki. Or Mr. Tendo. Or even my pops."

"Hey, yeah, you're right. That's pretty weird, she usually doesn't like people."

"Is it something I did?"

"Could be. Could just be your hair or the color of your eyes. You never know what sets her off."

"What do I do about it?"

"Why do you care? Just ignore her."

"You two idiots realize I can hear everything you're saying?"

Ranma and Yunshin, who were lying on their stomaches in a bush in the back yard, pretended they weren't there. Kimiko sat at the edge of the pond and threw bits of rice cake to the koi, pretending that she didn't know they were there. Hikaru was next to her with a stick in hand and desperately tried to poke a fish as they rose to the surface to eat. Soun sat on the porch, smiling and nodding and not quite sure how to actually participate.

Kasumi slid the back door to the side. "Ranma, can you come upstairs?"

Ranma stood from his bush. "Me?"

"Yes, you." She smiled patiently.

"Erm, not me, Kasumi?" Her father pointed to himself, feeling like he should probably be apart of the family conversation seeing as he _was _head of the house.

"No, that's all right. You watch the children, Father."

"Hmm, yes, of course, that's my job, watch the children! I'm very good at it, too." He nodded in reassured agreement with himself.

Ranma left the kids to whatever they were doing and walked into the house, pulling leaves from his hair. He followed Kasumi up the stairs to Nabiki's room and and waited while she gave a polite knock before entering. Nabiki sat in her desk chair and Akane knelt on the floor next to the door. Kasumi took her place at the foot of Nabiki's bed. The three had disappeared after lunch, leaving Soun and Ranma with the children (Genma having snuck away after reading the sign out front and feeling his empty pockets). They'd been holed up in Nabiki's room to talk about who-knows-what for hours now.

Ranma stood in the doorway, not really sure what he was supposed to be doing there.

"Shut the door, Ranma," Nabiki said, "And for heaven's sake sit down."

With an amused smile Nabiki watched her little sister tense up as Ranma sat cross-legged beside her. Nabiki didn't think he'd noticed, considering he was busy tensing up himself. _Akane, Akane_, she thought with her chin in her palm, _I think your little trip may have sent your relationship backwards._

"Now, Ranma," Nabiki said to him. "How would you feel if we reopened the dojo?"

It was quiet. All eyes were on him.

"What d'ya mean?" He asked. "I thought it _was_ open."

"I don't mean for rent. Well, we'll leave that open for nights and weekends as well, but no. I meant for students."

His eyebrows shot up. "Students?" He looked at each of the Tendo girls before stopping on Akane. "You're going to take students?"

She nodded.

"Hey," Nabiki brought his attention back to her. "Believe it or not, the Tendo dojo once had quite a good reputation. There used to be plenty of students training in the school, and plenty more who wished they were. The Tendos were one of the most well known masters of the Anything Goes Martial Art, but, well, the line sort of died out with daddy dearest and his three daughters. He taught for a while, but all that time with Happosai didn't make him the best of teachers. I suppose we could say he was enthusiastic but that was pretty much it." Kasumi gave a little shake of the head and Akane sighed. "Well, Ranma, we all know that that's where you come in."

"Me?"

"Yes, oh wise one, you. You weren't just daddy's friend's kid, you were also from a well known line of Anything Goes experts. I don't know if daddy thought that far ahead, but it's awful convenient now. At this point, with this new generation of martial artists, the name of Saotome is far wider known than Tendo."

"...What are you getting at, exactly?"

Akane turned to him slightly. "Help me run the dojo."

He stared at her. "What?" He said blankly.

Nabiki crossed her legs. "Ranma, you're a great martial artist. Your name alone could put this dojo back on the map."

He scoffed. "So I'm like a giant advertisement."

"Yep." Nabiki said bluntly. "Pretty much."

"Nabiki," Kasumi chastised softly.

"Who says I could even get customers?" Ranma asked.

Akane snorted. "Are you kidding me? People hunt you down from every far corner of the earth, and you don't think people know your name well enough to be interested? You've defeated gods and demons and ancients masters...you're good, Ranma, much better than me, and without your help I'm not sure we'd be able to reopen the dojo at all." Her voice, which had started out scathing, had calmed to a serious sincerity. She was looking directly at him, now, and he looked back, searching her eyes.

He looked away and took a deep breath. "All right. I'll help. It's not like I've got something better to do with the rest of my life."

"Oh, wonderful!" Kasumi said. Akane smiled.

"Excellent," Nabiki was all business again, "I'll start some advertising. You two will start fixing up the dojo, gutting it out and remodeling it for actual martial arts instead of old ladies' business parties. You'll get paid, of course,Ranma, although we'll be docking you for food and board—"

"Nabiki," Kasumi cut in.

"All right, fine. It'll be split, half and half. You two will worry about everything that has to do with the martial arts. Kasumi will run finances and worry about renting out the dojo, like she always has. I'd love to, but I've got college and other businesses to run." No one bothered to ask her what these were (because, frankly, they were a little bit scared and didn't really want to know), so she continued. "I'll help getting you set up, and then it's up to you three. Sound fair?"

The three looked at each other before agreeing.

"Well, then, that's settled. I'm kind of hungry, anybody else?"

"Oh!" Kasumi jumped up. "Yes, I'll get dinner started."

Ranma and Akane were also getting to their feet when Nabiki said, "Akane, can you stay for a minute?"

Ranma left them to themselves, shutting the door behind him.

"Good job, sis," Nabiki said after she was sure he was gone. "I thought that was a good idea."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"You sure you can handle it, though?"

"Oh, I'm sure there will be problems, but between us three—"

"I meant are you sure you can handle working with Ranma?"

Akane chuckled. "Guess I'll find out."

Nabiki paused, looking at her grown up little sister and worrying. "What about Ranma?"

"Oh, please, he'll be fine. His ego alone can keep him running for days. Besides, about time he put himself to good use, and I thought he was ok with the idea, didn't you?"

"...That's not what I meant."

Akane stopped and looked back at her. "I...hadn't thought about it."

"You never were very good at lying, were you?"

* * *

Outside the Tendo household the sun was beginning to set and the sky was turning pink. A small breeze blew orange and yellow clouds across the sky and stirred the trees. A young man in a white tank top and black pants, a heavy pack on his back, sat atop the outside wall, looking in. Soun Tendo was currently chasing a small boy across the grass while across the yard Yunshin and Kimiko stood outside the dojo, throwing punches. As the man watched, Akane came outside and called everyone in. The man on the wall smiled as she went to the sparring pair and broke it up. She entered the house after her father, but stopped in the doorway, scanning the yard with narrow eyes. She looked at the man on the wall twice, but, just as the man expected, she didn't see anything. She shook her head and walked inside. Yunshin skipped behind. Kimiko was just sliding the door shut when she stopped and scanned the yard as well, frowning suspiciously. In the house her mother called again and the girl shut the door.

"Well," Said the man on the wall. "Like mother, like daughter. Oh, looky, looky—is that a dojo I see? Tsk, tsk, Akane, you make it too easy..."

A/N: Welp. If you liked, review. Do it. Come on, guys, I need motivation.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Ha! Here's another one! Go me. I don't work on it for, like, three years, and then BAM! Twice in less than two weeks.

Adopted

Chapter 6

Ranma sat straight up in bed. His senses went wild while his brain tried to shake off the remnants of a dream. He was just wondering what had woken him up when a second scream rang through the house. He threw the covers to the side and was down the hall and bursting through Akane's door in seconds.

Kimiko and Yunshin stood in the middle of the room, rubbing tired eyes in their new pajamas. Akane knelt beside the bed trying desperately to comfort a wildly flailing Hikaru.

"Mommy!" He cried out over and over again. "_Mommy_!"

"I'm right here," Akane was telling him. "I'm right here, Hikaru."

Ranma watched, having absolutely no idea what to do. Soun ran up behind Ranma and stopped, peeking over his shoulder. Kasumi and Nabiki followed with worried, sleepy eyes. They watched the small figure thrash back and forth for a few more minutes before, slowly, his wide eyes seemed to focus. His screams turned to sobs and his body went limp. Akane gathered him in her arms and sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry," She said to the crowd in the doorway. "He's alright, really."

"What happened?" Nabiki asked.

"Ah, night terrors. He has them sometimes. I'm really sorry, but it's ok, now, so please go back to bed."

"Are you sure? Can we get you anything?" Kasumi asked.

"No, thank you." She smoothed Hikaru's hair back as he cried on her shoulder. "He's overheating right now, so I'm going to try to cool him down outside. Really, we're alright. I'm sorry."

"Well, all right, dear," Soun said. "Just tell us if you need anything."

"I will, thank you, daddy."

Akane turned to throw the blankets over Yunshin and Kimiko as they crawled back into bed. Nabiki was the first to return to her room, stretching. Kasumi followed after making sure no one wanted tea or something to eat and Soun left after wishing his grandchildren goodnight, multiple times. Ranma stood to the side as Akane left her room, shutting the door behind her. She looked up at him. He jerked his head for her to lead the way.

She made her way down the stairs and toward the backyard. Sliding the door aside she took a deep breath of fresh night air before sitting on the porch. A minute later Ranma sat beside her with a glass of water in his hand. He leaned toward Hikaru who looked at him with watery eyes.

"Here." He held out the glass.

Hikaru sniffed a few times before sitting up and reaching for it. He sat in Akane's lap, leaning back against her chest and sipping the water in between shuddering breaths.

"Thank you," Akane said to Ranma.

He shrugged.

They were silent while Hikaru calmed down, Akane tenderly running her fingers through his hair.

"Does he have nightmares like that a lot?" Ranma asked.

"They're not always so loud, but every night. I usually just let him work it out, since it's harder than heck to wake him up in the middle of one. Sorry."

He shook his head. "Can't help bad dreams. Right?" He directed the last question at Hikaru. The little boy blinked up at him sleepily, tears drying on his cheeks.

Akane nodded. "Mm. I asked a doctor about it in Nishao and he said it was likely a result of trauma from when he was abandoned in the forest for a week as a one year old. There's nothing, really, to do about it, other than pills and he's so young so I wasn't a fan of the idea. We just have to wait for him to grow out of it. Some time in a stable home will help, and not just him but all the kids. Or that's what the doctor thought."

"All the kids?"

"Yeah. Kimiko doesn't ever trust people, Yunshin trusts too much, and Hikaru...Hikaru was one of the youngest in the orphanage, but old enough he didn't need constant supervision, so he was often forgotten. He developed certain...ways to get the attention he needed."

Ranma didn't ask more on the subject, aware Akane was being careful while Hikaru was still listening. He did, however, mull over the term "stable home" in his head and thought that of all the homes in Japan this wasn't necessarily the most "stable" for children. Again he wasn't surprised at her; he knew Akane had a burning desire to fix everyone. He watched Hikaru yawn before sinking back, eyes struggling to stay open.

Ranma asked, "There were a lot of kids at that orphanage; I'm surprised ya didn't come home with all of them. How did you pick these ones?"

She chuckled. "I didn't pick them—they picked me!"

"They picked you?"

"Yes! I set up dozens of interviews with potential families for all the kids up there but Yunshin, Kimiko, and Hikaru sabotaged their interviews every single time! They threw things at the parents, pulled their hair, threw huge screaming fits...I eventually gave up and pretty soon it was just us, living up in the mountains all by ourselves, and, well, we liked that just fine."

"Little snots." Ranma smirked down at Hikaru, who hadn't opened his eyes in a few minutes.

Akane smiled. "I admit, I didn't try to stop them. At first I was trying twice as hard to adopt them out as I was the other kids, because I cared twice as much about them. That sounds horrible but it's true; I wanted them to have wonderful families that I knew could take care of them. When I found out they were messing up their interviews so they could stay with me I was conflicted—I wanted them, but I was afraid I wouldn't be what they needed. But they...they picked me." She half laughed, half scoffed. "I know, you think they're crazy, right?"

The answer was quick and blunt: "No."

She stared at him for a minute, watching the moonlight reflect off his face. She swallowed and looked down at the top of Hikaru's head.

"Well," Ranma stretched his arms over his head. "They seem to love you, that's for sure. And, geez, does Yunshin remind me of you."

"Eh? Me? I first noticed him because he reminded me of _you_!"

"What, me? No way."

"Yes!"

"He's got all _your_ attitude, though."

She snorted. "Maybe. But everything else is you."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Huh, I'm surprised you still like the kid if he reminds you of me."

"Oh, shut up," She punched his arm. "You know I don't hate you."

"Oh, yeah, that's right—because ya _missed_ me."

She flushed at the reference to earlier in the day. "Uh!"

He gave a sly grin. "Don't deny it, you said it..."

"Yeah, well, whatever! You missed me, too, admit it, Ranma."

"Ok."

"Hmm? Ok what?"

"I admit it."

Akane stopped. He looked back at her surprised face with the smallest of amused smiles. She suddenly wondered if they had always been sitting that close.

"Oh...you, uh..." She felt like she ought to keep talking, but he began to lean towards her and she couldn't think anymore. Before she could even register what was happening her head was tilted to the side, eyes half closed. Almost...

She inhaled sharply and pulled back, squeezing her eyes shut painfully.

He blinked. She had turned away. What was _that_ about? He was just about to pull on her arm to turn her around and to tell her to hold still 'cause he was trying to kiss her, gosh dang it, when a sound startled them both.

"A-_HEM_!"

Kimiko watched with irked eyes as her mother and the man who had just tried to lay one on her desperately tried to look cool.

"Mom," Kimiko said flatly. "Are you coming to bed?"

"Uh, y-yes, ha ha, of course. Bed." Akane's voice was shakey and her face beet red. Ranma was in no better condition but he was trying very hard to not look up at the small girl in a nightgown. Akane situated Hikaru before getting to her feet and leading her daughter back into the house. Ranma followed, thanking Kami that the house was dark. They reached the top of the stairs and hesitated, neither moving to their respective room first. Kimiko stood in between them with her arms crossed.

In the corner of her eye Akane could see Ranma's dark silhouette. She swallowed when she thought about what had almost happened moments ago.

Ranma was also watching her but he could only make out her outline in the dark. He realized she was holding something out to him. "Thanks," She said.

He reached for it and recognized it as the glass Hikaru had used. Her fingers lingered next to his on the cup a few seconds longer than really necessary before she walked down the hall. Ranma watched, completely still, until he felt a sharp pain in his shin. He bit his tongue to keep from calling out, which hurt even more, and he looked on with watery, ticked-off eyes as Kimiko closed the door to Akane's bedroom with a silent but obvious glare.

* * *

The next few days were relatively uneventful...for Nerima, anyway. There were late nights when Hikaru would wake up screaming and the kitchen light would go on for midnight tea and cookies; sometimes just Akane and Hikaru, sometimes the whole family. In the afternoon Akane had guests, friends from school who wanted to see her and hear all about her trip. When they were told about her three children they gaped in awe before cooing at how adorable they were and pinching all of their cheeks. Kimiko had taken to hiding in the tree outside or in Akane's room whenever she heard the doorbell. Kuno's visit had gone slightly awry when his sister tagged along but they had quickly, albeit not quietly, thrown them both out. Akane had dressed up in one of her most grown up new outfits and gone to the elementary school Yunshin had picked out to enroll him and his sister; the family members took turns walking them to and from school, with the exception of Ranma, who had been told to go back to his own school. Ranma had reluctantly done so—since Akane's reappearance there had been a never ending flow of questions and teasing from schoolmates and he was constantly dodging answering any of them. After school he worked on the dojo with Akane and Soun (who had been told the plan and was totally for it), only being set back once when Ranma commented on how it was a good thing she was mocho enough to carry cinder blocks around all day. They had to re patch the roof after that. He hadn't had a moment alone with Akane since "that night", which he was beginning to suspect was partly because Kimiko always happened to pop out of nowhere when they were alone and partly because Akane was avoiding being alone with him. It was starting to tick him off. But, again, he couldn't confront her about it because she was avoiding him...and Kimiko liked to "accidentally" drop things on his feet, hands, and head when he was just about to corner her mother.

This particular morning, Ranma was, as usual, dashing from one end of the house to the other in an effort to get ready for school. Yunshin was pretty much in the same boat.

"Mom, did you see where my tie went?" Yunshin said hurriedly from the doorway to the dining room, tucking his white shirt into his gray shorts.

"You left it on my desk upstairs," Akane answered. Yunshin dashed back down the hall. Akane sat between Nabiki and Kimiko. Nabiki had pushed aside her textbooks and cell phone in favor of a comic book and Kimiko ate her breakfast calmly, already dressed in the gray skirt, white shirt, and red tie that was the uniform of her primary school. Hikaru sat across the table, a chopstick in either hand, retelling a story of the playground to Kasumi while Soun read the newspaper.

A second after Yunshin's disappearance Ranma blocked the doorway. "Anyone seen my school bag?"

"You left it on the table in the kitchen," Akane said, taking a bite of egg.

Ranma ran down the hall.

"So then I went down the splide," Hikaru was saying, "and I went down the splide again and then on the meery-go-round..."

"Mom, you seen my other shoe?"

"Hikaru was wearing it in the dojo."

"Anyone seen _my_ other shoe?"

"Ranma, I think Kimiko hid it in the living room."

"No I didn't." Kimiko jumped in.

"Then where did you put it?"

"It's on the roof."

"...And after the meery-go-round I went on the swing and then Yunshin pushed me and I went sooo high..."

"Mom, did you see where my math book went?"

"You lost it already? You just got it yesterday."

"Yeah, I know, but...oh! I know where it is!"

He collided in the hallway with Ranma who was rushing back from the roof.

"Watch it, kid!"

"You watch it, ya big oaf!"

Kimiko set her tea cup down and stood up. "I'm going, now." She kissed Akane's cheek.

Soun stood as well. "I'll take you, then, shall I?"

"Ooh," Hikaru jumped up. "Can I go to shool, too?"

"I'm afraid not," Kasumi said. "It's only for big kids."

"I'm big."

"I'm sorry, Hikaru, but..."

Hikaru threw himself on the ground. "I wanna go to shool, too!" He shrieked. It was a sound the Tendo household was becoming very familiar with. Kasumi who was closest put a finger to her ringing ear.

"Now, son!" Sound was saying to the boy on the floor. "That's no way for a man to behave! What will your wife think?"

"Daddy," Akane said, "He's four." Hikaru continued to wail in the background.

"But Akane," Kasumi said. "That one always worked on _you_."

"Eh? Really?"

"Waaaaaaaah!" Hikaru cried louder.

Akane spun on him. "Hikaru, _enough_!"

His mouth snapped shut and he blinked at her innocently.

"Boys who act like that don't get to go anywhere." She helped him stand. "Now, listen, you're too young, do you understand? You can't go to school until you're older, all right?" He pouted. Akane's voice softened slightly. "But you know what?"

"What?"

"Grandpa doesn't like to go by himself, you know why? He's afraid he might get lost!"

Hikaru looked at Soun, not sure if he believed this. Soun jumped. "Oh, um, yes, it's true! I hate getting lost..."

Akane gasped. "Oh! I just had an idea! Hikaru, could you go with him? I bet Grandpa would feel so much better if a big boy like you went with him." She clicked her tongue. "Oh, but you don't want to, do you? I don't know if you can handle it. What do you think, Kasumi?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure..."

"Ah! Yes I can, yes I can!" Hikaru insisted.

"Do you think so?" Akane smiled. "Well, then, that's your job! We're counting on you to take care of Grandpa!"

Hikaru nodded determinedly. He took Soun's hand and led him after Kimiko, who had been watching from the doorway. She took her brother's other hand before heading through the chaos that was Ranma and Yunshin.

Kasumi said thoughtfully, "Hikaru seems so different than when he first arrived. He's acting so much older, now."

Akane nodded. "He did the same when I first met him. He acts more like a baby to get attention." She sighed. "Can't wait 'til he grows out of the screaming, though."

The boys rushed back and forth a couple more times before Yunshin called from the front door, "Ranma, hurry it up, will ya? Ukyo's waiting for you outside!"

Akane stiffened and Kasumi looked at her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'!" Ranma slammed the front door shut and the house was completely quiet.

Nabiki pulled an ear plug out of one ear and looked around the empty house. "Did I miss something?"

Kasumi just watched Akane take a sip of tea. "Akane," she began, "If it bothers you, you could always do something about it."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Maybe if you would just tell him."

"Tell him what?" She said stubbornly.

"You know," Nabiki pulled her other ear plug out, interested in the conversation now, "Tell him you love him."

Akane spewed her tea all over the table. Kasumi wiped her cheek with a napkin. "W-why would I tell him that?"

"Oh, Akane, really," Kasumi rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, sis," Nabiki put her chin in her hand. "I mean, you were gone for a year. We thought for sure that when you came back you'd finally spit it out."

Akane looked at the table with a hard look.

"He missed you, Akane." Kasumi said softly.

"Yes. But how much more than if _you _had disappeared? Or Ukyo? Or his own mother?"

Nabiki snorted. "Oh, please. I'm pretty sure that it's not even _remotely_ the same. If you confessed then maybe you'd find out."

Akane dropped her elbows on the table and ran her hands through her hair. "Yeah, maybe. I don't know if I can do that, though...i-if I did actually have something to confess."

"Why not, Akane?" Kasumi asked.

"I...I have no right."

"Oh, Akane, don't be silly," Kasumi placed a reassuring hand on Akane's arm. "You're just as important as anyone else in Ranma's life."

"More so." Nabiki added.

"Much more so," Kasumi nodded enthusiastically.

Akane sighed. "It's not that, it's...well, we all know how obnoxiously wishy-washy the idiot is, right? And we've had our moments, but, honestly, who knows what goes through his thick head. I mean, he may, I dunno, try to kiss me or something," She blushed, "Hypothetically. But, then, half the time I turn around to find him kissing someone else! And if I'm so uncertain about his feelings for me then there's no way I can still claim any part of him. It wouldn't be fair."

Nabiki and Kasumi shared a confused look.

"You didn't have a problem with it before." Nabiki pointed out.

"Before I didn't have three children who depended on me. It was a long shot that he would ever accept me in the first place, but now me, my three children, _and_ all our baggage? That's not fair to force on him."

Nabiki and Kasumi were quiet, contemplating this.

Nabiki shrugged. "He seems to get along with them."

"Yes, but would he want to be a father? This is Ranma we're talking about—he has the _worst_ commitment-a-pobia. And it's not like I've got the easiest kids in the world; they're a little high maintenance, I realize that. It's one thing to be friends with them, another entirely to be their parent. I mean, I'm not even sure if _I_ can be a good mother...and these children, they've been abandoned and neglected...they need some stability in their life and if I'm busy running around after some guy, whom I'm not even sure I have an actual chance with, and fighting his crazy suitors then they could get left behind. That's not fair to them, either."

"But, Akane," Kasumi said, concerned. "What about what's fair for you?"

Akane was quiet for a minute. "I made my choice months ago." She gave a forced laugh. "I mean, what was I supposed to tell the children? 'Sorry, but there's a man who _might_ like me, but I'm not sure because he's such a jerk and I often walk in on him with other women, so I can't take care of you because he might not like me even more, so have a good life with strangers.' No, I couldn't do that. They needed me."

"But you love him," Nabiki said.

Akane bit her lip.

Kasumi put a hand to her cheek. "And he's still living with us..."

Nabiki nodded. "Yeah, and now you're working together. Even if you've given up, won't it be hard to watch him, ya know, move on?"

"Mm. I still had to try to do my duty to dad." Akane didn't say anything other than that. She exhaled and suddenly felt very, very heavy, like there was a weight pressing down on her.

Nabiki was caught between feeling sympathy for her little sister and feeling oddly proud of her—she was putting aside her own feelings because she wanted what was best not only for the children, but for Ranma as well. _She's too nice_, she thought.

Kasumi, who had, for all intensive purposes, raised Akane, saw that the girl who had left a year ago was not the same as the woman who sat in front of her now. Akane didn't need her anymore; in fact, she was raising her own children. Emotion choked Kasumi's throat and a sadness enveloped her.

Akane suddenly slapped both hands down on the table and gazed ahead with a fierce look, startling both her sisters. "Enough of this talk! Who needs the love of just one man? Ha! Not me! I've got three, beautiful, wonderful children who _adore_ me! Who needs that perverted idiot? I'm a Tendo, dang it!" She clambered up onto the table, a microphone in her hands and fire (literally) burning in her eyes. "I'm a Japanese woman of the 21st century! And like my beautiful older sisters—" Nabiki turned to Kasumi, "She talkin' about us now?"; Kasumi told her to be quiet— "I will uphold my honor for family and country as a brave and independent single woman! I have seen the far corners of the earth, and I can handle one little man! I will stand to face him as the strong female adult that I am!" She finished by looking off at the horizon of the sun setting over the wide open sea that was Akane's future.

Kasumi applauded, a tear in her eye.

"Nice, sis," Nabiki said with raised eyebrows. "But how long you going to stick to that?"

Akane raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean how long? I'm going to—"

She was cut off by the sound of the front door bursting open and heavy feet running down the hallway.

"Dang it all!" Ranma shouted as he went. "Forgot my stupid lunch!" He screeched to a halt and back peddled, looking in at the Tendo sisters. The elder two followed his gaze to Akane. She had literally frozen, microphone held tightly, face blushing red. "'Kane, what are you doin' on the table?" He shook his head. "Never mind that, where's my lunch?"

"It's on the kitchen counter," Kasumi answered.

"Man!" He ran to the kitchen. "I am gonna be _so_ late today! The principal's gonna _kill_ me!" A minute later he walked back into view, more calmly, looking at the contents of the bento. The rice seemed more burnt than usual and there were cucumber rolls instead of meat sitting next to oddly shaped hunks of cooked dough. "Did you make this, Kasumi?"

"Hmm? Oh, no," She smiled, Nabiki noted, quite mischievously. "I asked Akane if she would make yours while she was making the children's."

A look of horror crossed his face. "Akane, don't tell me you made the kids' food? This is horrible, if they eat it, they're gonna—" He was cut off when Akane's microphone hit him square in the face, knocking him to the ground.

It was Nabiki's turn to applaud, slowly and sarcastically. "Way to be an adult, sis."

* * *

Later that day, Kasumi was dusting when the doorbell rang. "My, I wonder who that could be." She made her way to the front door and beamed. "Auntie Saotome!"

Nodoka Saotome smiled anxiously at Kasumi. Genma stood a few feet back, beyond the Tendo gate, his arms full of luggage.

"Kasumi, dear, is Akane in?"

"Yes, of course! Come in! Ranma should be home from school any minute, as well." Kasumi moved aside before going out to the gate. "I'll take those in for Auntie."

"Kasumi, can't I come in?" Genma asked with a pout.

"Sorry, Mr. Saotome, you'll have to ask Nabiki." She pried the suitcases from his hands with some difficulty before smiling and going back into the house. Genma sat outside and cried.

Nodoka stepped onto the back porch just as Soun was walking past, wooden boards in his arms and nails in his teeth. He spat them out when he saw her. "Mrs. Saotome. How was your stay with your friend in the country?"

"Fine, dear, thank you. I came home a bit early. Is Akane around?"

"Yes, she's out working on the dojo. Akane!" He called. "We have company!"

The Tendo girl came around the house, sweaty from cleaning out the dojo, led by Hikaru. Her face lit up. "Auntie Saotome! How are you? I haven't seen you in ages."

"Who's that lady, mommy?"

"It's Ranma's mom."

"Ranma's mommy?" Hikaru ran to Nodoka and stood under her, studying her.

Nodoka watched with a blank expression as Akane neared her, smiling all the while. Akane stepped onto the porch in front of her.

Nodoka raised her hand.

Akane cocked her head. "Auntie?"

Nodoka slapped her.

Soun's eyes popped. Kasumi dropped all the suitcases which fell open and spilled clothes everywhere. Hikaru stared up at the strange woman with wide eyes. Akane slowly turned her head back to look at Nodoka, a hand print on her cheek.

"You..." Nodoka said calmly, almost dangerously calmly. "You've just come home now?"

Akane didn't say anything.

"You think it's just that simple—run away, come home, and everything will be fine? You never wrote us, never called...we had no idea where you were or if you were even still _alive._" Her voice never rose above normal speaking level but it just made her words seem more passionate. "You think it's perfectly fine to leave your family like that? That everyone would just be _ok_ with it? How _dare_ you be so selfish."

None of the Tendos had moved. Hikaru was starting to panic slightly, looking back and forth between his mother and the middle aged woman who was telling her off. Akane's mouth hung open completely wordlessly.

"Your mother isn't around, I know, but that gives you _no_ right to just do as you please without thinking about anyone else. What about your sisters? What about your father? What about my _son_? Worried sick! Every one of them!"

"I...I'm sorry."

"Yes! You should be! Very sorry! And I know no one else will tell you all this because they're just too happy to see you, but I know they all feel the same! So just _don't_...do it again." Her voice faded and all that was left was worry in her eyes.

Akane, astonished, looked at the woman in front of her. She had never seen her lose her temper like that, at least not at her. She stood, unsure for a moment, before she bowed deeply. "I'm terribly, truly sorry for any trouble I have caused anyone. Please, forgive me."

Nodoka laid a hand on Akane's shoulder and pulled her out of her bow. She put her arms around her. "You're the closest thing I'll ever have to a daughter," she said quietly. "I'm glad you're home."

Akane blinked back sudden tears. She returned the hug, feeling strangely guilty.

They pulled away after a minute.

"Ah." Nodoka flushed, embarrassed. She bowed to Soun. "Please, forgive me for losing my temper! It was not my place."

"Quite all right, quite all right," Soun waved his hand at her, eyes still wide. "Best intentions, I know."

It was then Nodoka noticed Hikaru. "My!" She knelt in front of him, completely back to her calm self. Hikaru hid behind Akane's leg, afraid of her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Will you come out and meet me?"

Akane knelt as well and nodded at Hikaru. He stood in front of her, eyeing Nodoka warily.

"This is Hikaru," Akane said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Nodoke smiled. "My name is Nodoka Saotome. My husband told me about you. Please, call me Auntie." She held a hand out to him.

After a couple nudges from Akane, Hikaru took it, giving it a little shake. Inside, Kasumi gathered the scattered clothes before handing the suitcases to Soun to carry into the Saotome room. She then went to make tea, still shocked. Nodoka continued to speak with Hikaru until he had quite warmed up to her and reveled in her attention. Kasumi was just returning with tea when Yunshin's loud voice echoed from beyond the property walls.

"Better hurry up, Ranma, or I'll win!"

"You wish, sucker!" Ranma taunted back.

"As if you—hey! That's cheating!"

Ranma, who had just jumped over the wall, laughed. "Who said there were rules?" He stood in the yard before he noticed Akane. He sprinted toward her and she jumped. Yunshin came around the side of the house, running just as fast. Akane squirmed in her seat as the pair came at her.

Ranma reached her first and tapped her on the head. Yunshin tapped her shoulder a second later. Ranma crouched down next to her, gloating, "Mwahaha! I won!"

Yunshin growled and shouted over the head of his mother, "Are you kidding? You totally cheated!"

"Nya nya, did not!" Ranma sucked his tongue back in abruptly. "Oh, hey mom."

"Hello, dear."

Yunshin gaped. "Whoa, you're Ranma's mom?"

Nodoka giggled. "Yes, I am."

Yunshin extended a hand. "I'm Yunshin Hikawa—er, wait—Yunshin Tendo, now."

"Yes, nice to meet you. I've heard lots about you."

"Really?"

As Akane watched the interchange with a smile Ranma looked at her. She jumped slightly when he touched her cheek. "Akane, you got somethin' red on your face."

Nodoka blushed guiltily. Akane looked back and forth between mother and son.

"It's, ah, nothing really," She laughed nervously. "Ah, ha, nothing."

He blinked before shrugging. "Ok..."

"Hey, Kimi," Yunshin said when his sister stepped onto the porch after going through the house like a normal human. "What took you and Aunt Nabiki so long?" She ignored him and glanced at Ranma.

"Hello, Kimiko, how was school?" Akane asked, not noticing as Ranma quickly scooted away from her.

"Good. Who is this?"

Nodoka bowed her head and smiled sweetly.

"This is Auntie Saotome," Akane said, "Ranma's mother."

"Oh. Hi." Kimiko turned back into the house as Nabiki came into view.

"Hello, all," She called. "Oh, Kasumi, expect one more for dinner would you? I found this one sitting outside and he gave me 5000 yen to let him in. Who knows why he didn't just come in in the first place." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Genma, who looked at her with teary eyes.

"So cruel, Nabiki," He said.

Soun patted his shoulder. "Wonderful girl, isn't she?"

* * *

Once everyone was settled at home Ranma found himself on the dojo roof, ripping off old shingles and replacing the boards underneath. Yunshin was playing with his brother in the yard and Kimiko was inside the dojo, going through katas. Kasumi was in the kitchen, the men played Go on the porch, and Nodoka sat with Nabiki and Akane while they filled her in on everything she'd missed while she was gone.

Or, at least, that's where Nodoka _had_ been. Now, however, she was climbing up the ladder to visit her son.

"Hey, mom," Ranma helped her up, careful not to let her slip. She sat beside him. "How was your trip?"

"Nice," She replied. "Relaxing."

"You're home early, aren't you?"

"Yes. I called home to talk to your father and he told me that Akane was back. I told Risa that I must go home immediately, I had family matters to attend to."

"Ah."

They were quiet while Nodoka looked into the yard at the Tendo boys. "Quite shocking, isn't it. Three children? And she's so young, too."

"You're tellin' me."

She paused. "Ranma, can I ask your opinion on something?"

"Yeah, sure, anything."

She put a hand to her cheek and blushed dreamily. "Do you think it's too soon for them to call me Grandmother?"

Ranma almost fell off the roof. "W-what?"

"Yes, you're right, it is. We've only just met today. But, oh my, when do you think I should tell them to call me that? Before or after the wedding? Tell me, Ranma, what do you think? Will they call you Father?"

"Wha, wha, wha!" He looked at his mother's earnest face, his own beginning to redden. "I don't, I mean, I'm not, uh, you should probably ask Akane—"

She smiled. "It's all right, Ranma, there's no hurry. You just take your time with them. I have no doubt you'll be the honorable man I know you are and raise them to be men (and a woman) among men! If you don't you'll be a complete failure. It's up to you, my son!" She patted his shoulder with one last smile before standing to climb down. "Dinner will be soon, dear." She disappeared to help Kasumi set the table.

Ranma sat frozen where he was, eyes popping. _She's right,_ he thought, _Akane's my fiancée, so, that would mean..._

He clutched his hands to his head and gasped.

_I'm gonna be a DAD! Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!_

In his subconscious he had already realized this and had accepted it. Hearing it out loud, however, he felt a panic attack coming on.

_I can't be a dad! I don't know the first thing about raising kids! I suck! _

_ Akane sucks! Why is she doing this to me? _

_ I have no idea what to do! What if they don't even want me as a dad? What if they hate me? Oh wait... _

An overly dramatic tear entered his eye.

_Kimiko already hates me!_

_ Is it because she knows? She knew I would be a terrible father the second she saw me. I AM a failure!_

He furiously rubbed his hands through his hair.

_Akane, you idiot! How do you expect me to keep up with you? Gyaah!_

_ Wait, ok, it's not the end of the world, I'm just an almost-dad... I can do this, I can...I'm Ranma Saotome, dang it! _

Abruptly he stood strong, a glint in his eye, and his hands in determined fists. _No one kicks butt like I can! I'll kick fatherhood's trash!_

He sat again, knees to his chest, poking holes in the rooftop.

_What if I'm bad at it?_

While Ranma was distracted by the horror of facing his fate, Akane was jumping to the rooftop to call him for dinner. He screamed when he noticed her.

"Wha-wha-what?" He said anxiously.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing! What's the matter with you, huh? Sneakin' around..."

"I wasn't sneaking at all."

He blinked. He hadn't heard her coming, or even felt her presence when she was there. That was odd. Actually, now that he thought about it, she had been abnormally hard to detect since she had been home, and even harder to find when she didn't want to be. Sometimes it just seemed like she'd...disappeared.

"Hey, Akane. Have you lost weight?"

She punched him. "What, exactly, is that supposed to mean, you schmuck?" She held him by the front of the shirt, fist in his face.

"It's not what it sounded like!"

"Then what was it, you jerk!"

"You're just better at sneakin' around, is all!"

"Oh, so I sucked at it before because I was fat, huh?"

"I didn't say that, stupid! It's just that a shift in weight will change how you carry yourself, 'k?"

She blushed angrily. She had actually gained five pounds in muscle weight while she was gone, but there was no way in _heck_ she was telling him that. She punched him again before letting him go.

"Well, that's got nothing to do with it." She stomped toward the edge. "I'll show you some time what it actually is."

Ranma, rubbing his bruised cheek, said, "What what is?"

She stuck her tongue out at him over her shoulder. "That's for me to know, jerk." She jumped down.

"Akane, wait," He jumped down in front of her to keep her from leaving the secluded shade of the dojo.

"What now?" She snapped.

Her anger turned to confusion when he stared down at her seriously.

"What is it?" She asked again, sincere.

"Well, it's..." He didn't really know how to say it. "I'm...We're engaged, right?"

Her heart skipped a beat. "...Yes."

"Well, yeah, which is...ya know..." _Awesome._ "But, see, the kids..." He frowned, concentrating hard on what he wanted to say.

Her heart dropped into her stomach at his expression. "Oh. I see." _He doesn't want us..._

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, it's just...I'm not sure I'm ready for something like that." _Wait for me._

"I understand." _He doesn't want me..._

Ranma brightened. "You do?"

"Yes...it's fine. I expected it." She didn't meet his eyes, clenching her fists at her side.

He sighed, relieved. "Great!" He looked at the top of her head, noticing she wasn't looking at him. _Her face is probably totally red_, he thought, blushing a little himself. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she accidentally looked at him. "Thanks, Akane." He said with a soft smile.

_Oh no,_ she thought, feeling herself lose it. _I have to get out of here. _"Dinner." Was all she said before turning and trying very hard not to let him see her run back into the house.

Ranma stuck his hands in his pockets and grinned as she left. _She's so cute._

He turned and jumped back. "Wah! H-how long have you been there?"

Kimiko, leaning against the dojo door frame in her Gi with her arms crossed, glared at him.

Ranma folded his arms, too. "Go ahead and hate me for now," he said haughtily, eyes closed. "But I'll make you like me, just you wait, because I—where'd she go?" He looked to and fro but Kimiko had disappeared. "Tsk. Man, I bet Akane taught her that..."

Inside, the rest of the family was settling down for dinner. Akane snuck by without anyone noticing and dashed up the stairs. Seconds later, also without being noticed, Kimiko did the same. She came to her mother's bedroom door, with the little duck plaque that said "Akane" on it. She slowly opened it.

Akane knelt on the ground, starring blankly at her lap. She turned slowly. "Oh, Kimiko...sorry, I'll be down in just a minute, ok? So go ahead—ah!" She hurriedly wiped at an escaped tear. She laughed. "I don't know why...I shouldn't be surprised...ha! I prepared for this. Dang it..." She was wiping more and more tears as they leaked out, looking a little hysterical.

Kimiko shut the door behind her and moved to her mother's side. She had absolutely no idea what to do; she'd never seen Akane like this. After a minute of hesitation she gently patted Akane's head. "There, there..." She said.

At the simple gesture from her daughter all resolve was broken. A sob escaped, and then another. Akane opened her arms and reached for Kimiko, who was panicking even more now. She sat the girl in her lap and squeezed her tightly, crying into her hair. Kimiko sat completely still, her arms around Akane, thinking evil thoughts about the man who had made her mother cry.

A/N: Eeek. Depression. Hopefully, this runs pretty smoothly... Anyway, I'm freaking out. Are you freaking out? Review if you are.


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